A former West Sussex publican who lied about his sales to evade £85,000 in VAT and corporation tax has been jailed for 18 months after an investigation by HMRC
Christopher Humphrey manipulated till records so lower daily takings were recorded, and provided inaccurate information to his accountants. He also lied about the amount of stock purchased when he was landlord of The Tudor Tavern public house in East Preston - to try and hide the amount he was actually selling.
The fraud, which took place between August 2011 and June 2015, was uncovered by HMRC’s specialist cash taskforce and referred for criminal investigation. Enquiries revealed Humphrey had evaded £53,464 in VAT and £31,128 of corporation tax.
Humphrey pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court and was given an 18 month prison sentence. He has also been disqualified from holding any company directorships for three years.
Upon sentencing Humphrey, His Honour Judge Lucas QC, said: ‘You ran a public house in a manner I can only describe as wholly fraudulent. It is clear that not only were you cheating the public revenue but also deceiving your employers by purchasing stock elsewhere.’
Chris Gill, assistant director, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said: ‘Christopher Humphrey lied about his true takings to pay less tax, which gave him an unfair advantage over business competitors. Our message is clear - it is simply not acceptable to steal from the tax system and honest UK taxpayers.’
Report by Pat Sweet
