A self styled
Lord, who tried to steal £6.8m from the public purse, was jailed
for 12 months at the Old Bailey yesterday, after a complex
investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
[redacted 06/11/2019], admitted sending fake repayment
claims for VAT and income tax worth more than £1.6m each. He also
tried to swindle almost £3.5m from the Revenue by sending in a
fraudulent company tax return for that amount.
Martin Brown, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for
HMRC, said:
“HMRC will not stand by whilst fraudsters like this try to steal
money from the public. We are cracking down on fraud and the
Government has made a further £917m available to us to step up the
fight against evasion, avoidance and attacks by criminal gangs.”
Trial judge HHJ Worsley QC said:
“Fraud is not a victimless crime; the public pays for frauds
committed against HMRC. [redacted 06/11/2019] showed a degree of planning that
was not matched by the sophistication of the fraud.”
The massive claims were picked up by HMRC officers, who refused
to pay any of the money to [redacted 06/11/2019].
When asked to back up his claims for money, the self-styled “Lord
[redacted 06/11/2019]” provided fake invoices and bank statements. The frauds
were easily spotted by HMRC investigators because of errors and
spelling mistakes; in one invoice[redacted 06/11/2019] had misspelled Dumfries
as “Bum Fries”. Falsified bank statements also showed transactions
occurring in the future.
Notes to Editors
1. Details of the defendant are:
· [redacted 06/11/2019]. He pleaded guilty to two counts
of false representation under the Fraud Act and was sentenced to
12 months in prison.
· HHJ Worsley also imposed a Serious Crime Prevention Order on
[redacted 06/11/2019], meaning all his financial and business activities will be
closely monitored for five years following his release from prison.
2. The total attempted fraud was worth £6,813,126, broken down as follows:
· £1,675,315 - false VAT claim
· £1,675,315 - false self assessment claim
· £3,462,496 - false company return
All repayments were identified as fraudulent and no money was
paid out by HMRC.
3. If anyone has any information to report to HM Revenue
& Customs (HMRC) about any individuals or businesses that
may be evading their tax, please contact the Tax Evasion hotline
by calling 0800 788 887 or via the website www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion.
4. Picture of the defendant is available at
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=420035&NewsAreaID=2&ClientID=257
5. Follow HMRC on Twitter @HMRCgovuk.
Contacts:
HM Revenue & Customs Press Office
HMRC-Press-office.NDSmanagement@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
Sara Pont
Phone: 020 7147 0394
sara.pont@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
HMRC Out of Hours
Phone: 07860 359544
NDS.HMRC@coi.gsi.gov.uk