Convicted fraudster Richard Hillgrove has filed his tax evasion case to the Court of Appeal ahead of sentencing next month.
Hillgrove lodged an appeal against his guilty verdict at Bristol Crown Court last week, but will likely have to wait a number of months before a single judge will grant or refuse leave to appeal.
Last month the Somerset-based celebrity PR was convicted on two counts of cheating the public Revenue. After a three-week trial the jury came to a unanimous verdict in just two hours that he had dishonestly failed to make returns for VAT and PAYE to HMRC for his limited company Hillgrove Public Relations Limited.
The grounds of appeal have not yet been made public; however Hillgrove has indicated in his firm's own PR releases that new information has since come to light, illuminating the “I was set up” conspiracy he alluded to during the Crown Court trial.
It also appears that Hillgrove’s most recent accountant Mr Shah, who he called as his witness during the trial, is no longer working for him.
Hillgrove represented himself at Bristol Crown Court with no formal legal training, but is likely to seek legal representation if the case makes it to the Court of Appeal.
Hillgrove’s PR business is still trading but a lot of the clients left after he was accused of tax fraud.
If he receives a custodial sentence, Hillgrove told AccountingWEB he would run the PR business from an open prison. “I’ll have to re-name it Prison PR,” he joked.
Hillgrove also said in a recent press release that his wife Lois is preparing to temporarily “take the helm” at Hillgrove PR should the sentencing see Hillgrove sent to prison.
Sentencing is due to take place on 27 May at Bristol Crown Court.