A Welsh accountant was jailed for more than two-and-a-half years for hiding the profits of a motor racing business in a £140,000 tax fraud.
Michael Jones was also banned from being a company director for five years and admitted two counts of cheating the Revenue, one of VAT fraud and two of transferring criminal property at Cardiff Crown Court.
Jones was the company secretary of Nick Jones Racing (NJR) and according to the Revenue, hid the true profit of the business by deliberately misrepresenting NJR's income to pocket tax due.
He falsified the company accounts to profit himself and failed to show the real income of the business. When sponsors made payments to NJR, the only money was transferred to his personal bank account within 24 hours.
He also encouraged 12 clients of his accountancy firm, J&R Business Services to commit VAT fraud by participating in an advertising tax saving scheme.
The accountant encouraged the mostly local companies to buy advertising on NJR’s race cars and website, but it never materialised and the participating companies falsely reclaimed the VAT.
Directors and sole traders of these were also personally reimbursed with a gift of tax free money, HMRC said.
On sentencing, Judge Curran, presiding, said that the fraud was “carefully considered and constructed” and “designed employing your expertise as an accountant”.