The director of three Dorset building companies that made false VAT repayment claims amounting to more than £1m has been jailed for 18 months.
Stuart Cleveland Price, aged 48, from Verwood in Dorset, pleaded guilty to three counts of VAT fraud on 7 January. He was sentenced last week at Bournemouth Crown Court.
The fraud was stopped after HMRC officers raided Price’s home and business address in June 2011 and removed his business records, HMRC said.
John Cooper, assistant director of criminal investigation at HMRC, said: ‘Price committed fraud over a number of years … When he was asked for documentation to support the repayment claims, he produced bank statements that had been doctored with amounts that did not add up. He also provided invoices that had genuine headings but where the details were false.
‘HMRC thoroughly investigates suspected tax fraud, and clamps down on those who cheat the system. Anyone can report a fraud by calling the 24-hour hotline on 0800 59 5000.’
The director of three Dorset building companies that made false VAT repayment claims amounting to more than £1m has been jailed for 18 months.
Stuart Cleveland Price, aged 48, from Verwood in Dorset, pleaded guilty to three counts of VAT fraud on 7 January. He was sentenced last week at Bournemouth Crown Court.
The fraud was stopped after HMRC officers raided Price’s home and business address in June 2011 and removed his business records, HMRC said.
John Cooper, assistant director of criminal investigation at HMRC, said: ‘Price committed fraud over a number of years … When he was asked for documentation to support the repayment claims, he produced bank statements that had been doctored with amounts that did not add up. He also provided invoices that had genuine headings but where the details were false.
‘HMRC thoroughly investigates suspected tax fraud, and clamps down on those who cheat the system. Anyone can report a fraud by calling the 24-hour hotline on 0800 59 5000.’
