A trained accountant has been jailed for 22-months, after handing himself in to HMRC, for fraudulently claiming more than £82,000 VAT refunds to fund his gambling addiction
Mark Esdaile has more than eight year’s accountancy experience and has studied VAT for three years. He claimed to be a gas and electricity adviser for his business Contact Me Solutions but the business was a sham, set up solely so that he could submit false VAT returns to get repayments he was not entitled to.
Esdaile had his solicitor arrange a meeting with HMRC so he could confess his crime.
Esdaile has twice been convicted of stealing from his employers. He was handed a three month suspended sentence and 240 hours unpaid work for stealing £2,000 from a company bank account in October 2011.
He pocketed £76,117 in fraudulent VAT repayments with a further £6,607.80 held by HMRC.
Esdaile admitted VAT fraud at Newcastle Crown Court on 2 May 2017, and was sentenced to 22 months in prison at the same court on 6 July 2017.
Cheryl Burr, assistant director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: ‘As an accountant Esdaile was in a position of trust, but he used his knowledge of the tax system to steal from honest and hardworking taxpayers. This isn’t the first time he has stolen money to fund his addictions and now he is paying the price behind bars.’
