Fraudster jailed after trying to scam taxpayer out of £70,000 with bogus claims
A Telford man who tried to steal more than £70,000 in tax repayments has been jailed for two years and seven months.
Unemployed Joshua Lear, 28, of Sutton Hill, submitted 15 false Self-Assessment tax repayment claims to HM Revenue and Customs between 2015 and 2021 in an attempt to steal £71,623 from the taxpayer.
To make his claims appear legitimate Lear made up figures for construction jobs he didn’t do and used other people’s National Insurance details when completing the online Self-Assessment forms.
Lear received £6,094.83. His other nine claims were blocked by HMRC.
He was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on June 17 having pleaded guilty to 12 counts of fraud and one count of money laundering in April.
Kieran Causer, 29, from Bishopdale, helped Lear transfer the stolen money into a personal bank account as the pair attempted to launder the stolen money.
He pleaded guilty to money laundering at Birmingham Crown Court in April and was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months, on June 17.
A spokesman for the HMRC said: “Tax fraud is not a victimless crime and we will continue to pursue the small minority of individuals who commit these crimes. We urge anyone with information about tax evasion to report it to HMRC online.”
