The director of three Dorset building companies who made fake VAT repayment claims for over £1m has been jailed for the fraud following an investigation by HMRC.

Stuart Cleveland Price pleaded guilty to three counts of VAT fraud relating to ECO Homes Constructions, The Steel Frame Company Ltd and SIPS ECO Panels Direct Ltd. The offences took place between October 2007 and June 2011.

HMRC officers raided Price's home and business address in June 2011. Based on his repayment claims for the three companies, HMRC investigators were expecting to find invoices for over £9m but discovered that only a fraction of this appeared in Price's trading records.

John Cooper, HMRC's assistant director of criminal investigation, said: 'When he was asked for documentation to support the repayment claims, he produced bank statements that had been doctored with amounts that did not add up. He also provided invoices that had genuine headings but where the details were false.'

Price received an 18 month prison sentence and HMRC says it will be seeking to recover the monies stolen in a confiscation hearing.