A Leicestershire takeaway owner who disguised his weekly takings and failed to declare rental income to his accountant as part of a £165,000 tax fraud has been jailed for 28 months, following an HMRC investigation
Ozcan Donmez withheld cash takings, hid his true wages and failed to declare income on two rental properties to his accountant between 2007 and 2014, evading £137,322 in income tax, HMRC said.
The investigation also found Donmez had supressed the weekly takings at his Braunstone-based Superfry shop by half - from £100 to £50 a day - to try and avoid paying £27,677 in VAT.
Donmez pleaded guilty to the fraudulent evasion of income tax and VAT fraud at Leicester Crown Court and was sentenced to 28 months in prison.
A confiscation order to recover the proceeds of his crime was also put in place, requiring him to pay back the full amount of his crime within three months or face a further two-and-a-half years in prison.
Stuart Taylor, assistant director, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said: ‘Donmez knew full well that he was breaking the law. In doing so he took money away from vital public services and there are no excuses for this type of criminal activity.’
