A discount furniture store boss who failed to pay more than £150,000 in VAT, despite recording sales of over £2m, has been given a jail sentence following an HMRC investigation into his business affairs
Anthony Whitehead, of Middlewich, Cheshire, was the owner of Warehouse Prestwich. When HMRC officers analysed his company records they found that he had dishonestly declared identical sales and purchases on his VAT returns between May 2011 and August 2016, paying just £205 in VAT over five years.
Whitehead admitted VAT fraud totalling £150,440 and was sentenced to two years and four months in jail at Chester Crown Court. HMRC has begun confiscation proceedings to recover the money owed.
Tim Atkins, assistant director, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said: ‘Whitehead was doing very well from his business but he chose to be greedy. This was a deliberate and ongoing scam, but we’ve pulled the rug from under his feet and his reputation as an honest businessman is in tatters.’
Report by Pat Sweet
