A report in the Isle of Wight County Press, their copyright acknowledged. In summary:
The individual created fraudulent tax returns between between 2012 and 2015 with madeup figures for income and expenses as a labourer.
In total he attempted to claim £41,806.20, stealing £29,115.24 before the fraud was uncovered by HM Revenue and Customs, and he was sentenced to 20 months in jail, suspended for two years with a two month curfew between 9pm and 5am as well as 125 hours of unpaid work to complete within a year.
The fraud was uncovered by HMRC’s Income Tax Self Assessment Repayment Taskforce and referred for criminal investigation.
As a firm, sometimes we get criticised for being exact with our clients about records of income and expense, and discipline in record keeping. Although this is an extreme case, it shows why we are cautious. Nobody wants a knock on the door from HMRC investigators and the best way to avoid this getting things right at the outset.