Financial advisers jailed for VAT fraud
THREE North West financial advisers were among eight people sentenced yesterday for their part in a VAT fraud worth nearly £2m.
The eight were part of a gang of 11 who had set up fictitious companies claiming to be trading in animal feeds, children’s clothing and fruit and vegetables. They also created business expenses associated with the non-existent companies to evade paying VAT to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
The gang registered 15 bogus companies between 1998 and 2004 across Merseyside, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Scotland creating fictitious sales transactions and invoices to evade paying VAT whilst pocketing reclaimed VAT for fake business costs.
The financial advisers were: Gary Edgington, 55, of Bollington, who was sentenced to four years; Peter Wood, 52, of Manchester, who specialised in tax advice and was sentenced to four years and eight months in jail; and Michael North, 70, of Stockport who received a 15-month sentence.
The judge said they had played, “leading and organisational roles”, used their “professional expertise and veneer to create and form entities” for the purposes of the fraud.
The other North West-based defendants were John Wright, 46, of Warrington, who was sentenced to six years jail and Neil Banks, 24, of Bollington, who was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work. Scottish gang members Diane Bellingham, 44, and George Duncan, 45 received 12-month and 32-month sentences respectively. Emma Vasey, 35, from Tyne and Wear, was sentenced to 18 months jail.
Mike O’Grady, HMRC’s assistant director of criminal investigations North West, said: “Those sentenced today include three self-employed financial advisors who opened bank accounts to facilitate the frauds, helped with the purchase of properties for gang members using the money obtained from the fraud and in some circumstances completed false invoices.
“They abused their positions of trust to line their own pockets and those of their co-conspirators and the sentences handed out by the court today reflect how seriously this crime is taken. VAT fraud is a serious crime which diverts vital income from the UK’s public services into the pockets of career criminals and HMRC will do everything in its power to put a stop to this.”
