A tax agent was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to fraud. Howard Marcus Derham, aged 49, a director of Axe the Tax Ltd and currently of ‘no fixed abode’ on the Isle of Wight, stole £52,000 by claiming tax repayments using clients’ names, HMRC said in a press release.
Derham (pictured) claimed repayments on behalf of clients but failed to pass the money on. In some cases clients were unaware that returns had been submitted and ‘had no idea they were due a refund until they received notification from HMRC’.
He pleaded guilty to five of ten counts of income tax fraud and asked for another 28 offences to be taken into consideration. The offences took place between 2006 and 2011.
HMRC added: ‘Derham, who operated on a “no win no fee” basis, mainly represented clients from the construction industry. In his more legitimate trading days he would charge clients 15% commission on monies refunded by HMRC.’
