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03/12/2010
Celebrity Lifestyle Fraudsters Jailed
Five gang members have been jailed for 15 years for stealing £17m of taxpayer’s money in a complicated ‘missing trader’ VAT fraud.
During a four and a half year investigation, criminal investigators from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) smashed the multi million pound fraud, centred on the mobile phone industry. VAT claims to steal a further £5m had been made, but these were stopped from being paid.
Paperwork recovered during house searches showed that the gang were planning on a further fraud to steal an additional £300m of VAT from the public purse, however this plot was foiled.
Gary Lampon, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said: “This was organised fraud on a massive scale used to blatantly fund the extravagant lifestyles of this criminal gang at the expense of the British taxpayer. ‘Missing trader’ fraud is not merely a paper fraud, it is organised crime and we are determined to pursue and bring to justice the criminals behind this type of fraud and confiscate the proceeds of their crimes.”
The gang used the proceeds of their crime to purchase high value items in cash including; several UK properties worth over £1m each, performance cars including a Rolls Royce Phantom for £250,000, a Ferrari for £165,000, and a property in Spain valued at over £1million.
(BMcN/KMcA)
During a four and a half year investigation, criminal investigators from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) smashed the multi million pound fraud, centred on the mobile phone industry. VAT claims to steal a further £5m had been made, but these were stopped from being paid.
Paperwork recovered during house searches showed that the gang were planning on a further fraud to steal an additional £300m of VAT from the public purse, however this plot was foiled.
Gary Lampon, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said: “This was organised fraud on a massive scale used to blatantly fund the extravagant lifestyles of this criminal gang at the expense of the British taxpayer. ‘Missing trader’ fraud is not merely a paper fraud, it is organised crime and we are determined to pursue and bring to justice the criminals behind this type of fraud and confiscate the proceeds of their crimes.”
The gang used the proceeds of their crime to purchase high value items in cash including; several UK properties worth over £1m each, performance cars including a Rolls Royce Phantom for £250,000, a Ferrari for £165,000, and a property in Spain valued at over £1million.
(BMcN/KMcA)
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