Four people who claimed to be Bollywood film producers have been sentenced to jail for a £6m film tax fraud following an investigation by HMRC.

Between 2007 and 2011, the fake film-makers used false paperwork and bank statements to support claims for relief on films which were either never made or used titles which had been stolen from other productions. One of their bogus productions was Billy, the animated story of a Beagle dog escaping London Zoo to undertake a journey of self-discovery in the capital. It was never made.

In total, the gang members received repayments of £4.4m but attempts to claim a further £1.7m failed. Three of the four were based in the London borough of Newham. Sanjeev Mirajkar was an experienced film editor, having worked on Bollywood films in the UK and India. He became a company director of a number of the companies involved in the fraud and was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment for VAT fraud and six months imprisonment for film tax credits fraud, to run concurrently.

Amit Kumar, a video editor, acted as company secretary to two of the companies involved in the fraud and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for VAT fraud. Afsana Karim, who was a director of a number of companies involved in the fraud, had previously worked in the fashion and wedding photography industries. She was given suspended sentences for VAT fraud and film tax credits fraud and ordered to undertake 100 hours unpaid work.

The fourth member of the gang, Anish Anand, whose last known address was in Coventry, absconded before the start of the trial. He was sentenced in his absence to seven years imprisonment for VAT fraud and two years imprisonment for film tax credits fraud, as well as being disqualified from being a company director for seven years.

David Margree, assistant director of HMRC, said: 'This gang defrauded the taxpayer of a substantial amount of money. The majority of the payments obtained through this fraud were sent offshore to Dubai, Luxembourg, and India.'