FIRST INHERITANCE TAX PROSECUTION IN ENGLAND
10 Jan 2006 05:15 PM
Shaun Benedict Gray was sentenced in Bournemouth Crown Court today to
3 years imprisonment on each of 3 counts of false accounting and 2 of
forgery, the terms to run concurrently. The false accounting charges
arose from an Inheritance tax return submitted by Mr Gray in respect
of the estate of the late Helen Guiterman who was an authority on the
19th century Scottish artist David Roberts. Investigation by officers
of HMRC established assets to the value of approximately £500,000 had
not been included on the return. The investigators also established
that Gray had forged Helen Guiterman's will making himself the major
beneficiary.
The court heard that under her previous will Helen Guiterman had left
her important collection of David Roberts paintings to the National
Art Collections Fund and most of the residue of her estate to
charity. As a result of the HMRC investigation Helen Guiterman's
collection of David Roberts paintings was recovered from Mr Gray and
returned to the National Art Collections Fund.
Steve Doyle, an HMRC investigator, said: "This prosecution, the first
Inheritance tax case in England, demonstrates the seriousness with
which HMRC view Inheritance tax fraud and our determination to
prosecute such cases. We were also pleased to play a part in
disposing of the David Roberts collection in accordance with the
original wishes of Helen Guiterman".
This case was successfully prosecuted by the newly established
Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). RCPO is an
independent prosecuting authority, which reports to the Attorney
General, and is responsible for the prosecution of all HMRC cases in
England and Wales.
Notes for editors
1. Shaun Benedict Gray, born 25 December 1966, lives in Dorset. He
was the grandson of Helen Guiterman's cousin and had an enduring
power of attorney over Helen Guiterman's affairs, signed by her on 22
July 1997.
2. He pleaded guilty to the charges of false accounting and forgery
at a previous court appearance on 18 November 2005.
3. Helen Guiterman was born on 9 January 1916. She was an authority
on the 19th century Scottish artist called David Roberts who is
particularly well known for his paintings depicting Middle Eastern
scenes. Over her lifetime Miss Guiterman managed to buy a number of
his paintings. She died in a nursing home on 8 May 1998 at the age of
82.
4. The Revenue & Customs Prosecution Office (RCPO) was created by
Royal Assent on 7 April 2005. An independent prosecuting authority,
RCPO reports directly to the Attorney General, and is responsible for
prosecuting some of the largest drug and fraud cases in the UK. For
further information about RCPO, please contact their press office on
020 7865 5666.
Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Media Relations Team
Website www.hmrc.gov.uk
Probate and Inheritance Tax helpline
Tel: 0845 3020 900