REVENUE CHEAT GAOLED FOR ORGANISING TAX FRAUD

4 Jun 2004 12:45 PM

Jonathan Davies (38) of 24, White Lion Close,Wrexham, was gaoled for eighteen months following a sentencing hearing at Mold Crown Court yesterday (03 June).

In passing sentence His Honour Judge Daniels commented "...you have a great deal to account for you organised it and you initiated it..." he also said "...if I took into account all the submissions of your co-defendants your sentence would be longer..."

Davies was sentenced alongside four co-defendants he embroiled in the fraud, arranged around false tax repayments made between 1999 and 2002

Davies was, at the time, employed by the Inland Revenue as a Revenue Officer at Wrexham tax service office and made twenty unauthorised payments with a total value of 34,133.67

The fraud was discovered by the actions of Inland Revenue Boards Investigation Office.

Investigator Ian Horridge said "We are constantly checking records in pursuit of employee fraud and we always seek prosecution of all concerned. Mr Davies has lost his job and his good name as well as his freedom, his sentence should be a clear warning to anyone considering similar action."

DETAILS

1. Personal Details
Jonathan Neville DAVIES (38) Eighteen Months Imprisonment Occupation - Inland Revenue officer
Private address - Sunnerhill, Wrexham.

Paul ELWIN (26) Three Months Imprisonment
Occupation - employed by Wolverhampton & Dudley Brewery. Private address - Brynteg, Wrexham

Amy Louise TAYLOR (22) 150 hours Community Punishment Order Occupation - registered with the recruitment agency The Business Connection.
Private address - Brynteg, Wrexham

Emma Jane WALKER (28) To be sentenced at Hearing Monday 7th June Occupation - registered with the recruitment agency The Business Connection. Has claimed Incapacity benefit and Income Support since 18.01.01 and continues to do so.
Private address - Rhostyllen, Wrexham

Joanne Marie POVEY Nee LEWIS 150 hours Community Punishment Order Occupation - employed by SPAR supermarkets.
Private address - Helston, Cornwall

2. Offences Charged
All parties detailed above were charged with 'Conspiracy to Defraud Her Majesty's Public Revenue' all pleaded guilty to these offences at the initial hearing at Mold Crown Court in April

3. Investigations showed that between January 1999 and June 2002 Davies, whilst employed as a Revenue Officer, issued twenty fraudulent Inland Revenue repayments totalling 34,750.00 None of the repayments issued were due - all were based on false information created on Inland Revenue systems by Davies. The repayments were issued using Inland Revenue payable orders and the BACS system
Bogus National Insurance Numbers were used to create records with repayments being generated thereafter on those records.
Bogus identities were created for whom 'nominee' details were entered to enable repayments to be issued on their behalf.
False addresses were used for the bogus identities.
Details contained within the relevant Tax Returns were falsified.

4. It is the stated policy of the Inland Revenue to pursue prosecution in ALL cases where an Inland Revenue employee is involved in any way in fraudulent activity intended to cheat the public purse. Such cases represent a breach of trust of the highest order and this is reflected in the severity of the sentences handed down by the judiciary

Inland Revenue
Press Office
Room G7
New Wing
Somerset House
London WC2R 1LB
Non-media enquiries: your own tax office
Web: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk