The director of a building firm who stole almost £650,000 in fraudulent VAT repayments has been jailed for two years and 10 months after an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Derek Hole, 83, from Kingston Seymour, Clevedon, was the sole director of Briar Building.
He submitted VAT returns claiming refunds for the purchase of building supplies totalling £644,579.14 between January 2012 and September 2017.
Hole claimed the company was constructing new build residential properties, which are generally zero-rated for VAT purposes.
But investigators found the purchases were fictitious and the claims were made up to illegally receive VAT repayments. Hole was arrested in March 2018 and sentenced at Bristol Crown Court yesterday (25 October).
Richard Wilkinson, assistant director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Hole lied so he could claim money he wasn’t entitled to. He manipulated a system that exists for the benefit of legitimate companies, individuals and charities with the sole purpose of cynically lining his own pockets.
“He knew he was breaking the law, yet chose to overlook it for the opportunity of making what he wrongly assumed would be easy money, at the expense of the taxpayer.”
Comments are closed.