Former Policeman Jailed For Record VAT Fraud

A former policeman from South Yorkshire has been jailed for over 10 years for an attempted £330 million VAT fraud - the largest of its kind in the UK.

The scam was led by Nigel Cranswick, 47, from Dinnington in South Yorkshire, who HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) say went from "rags to riches in a matter of weeks". He had been heavily in debt only weeks into his new business venture, after he quit his job as a serving policeman.

He and five others were caught by investigators from HMRC after they claimed their new business, Ideas 2 Go Ltd, had sold more than six million mobile phones and had a turnover of more than £2.4 billion in just eight months.

Using details from hijacked or fictitious companies, the gang produced thousands of invoices for sales of mobile phones and computer software, producing billions of pounds in fabricated turnover, generating around £330 million in fraudulent VAT repayments. Cranswick and his gang invented over 6,000 fake business transactions in an attempt to make the repayments appear legitimate.

The company claimed in the first six weeks of trading Ideas 2 Go had turned over more than £527million, while trading over £47million before opening a bank account for the business.

Police said Cranswick and his gang began "splashing out" on extravagant purchases, with Cranswick making "lavish" improvements to his home, renting a luxury apartment in the Spanish town of Marbella and paying for private schooling and tennis lessons for his children.

Exchequer Secretary, David Gauke said: “This Government will not tolerate dishonest people stealing public money. This sentence shows that those who try to commit fraud need to think again – HMRC will find you and the courts will punish you.

“The additional £917m we have invested in HMRC will see more cases like this successfully prosecuted, sending a clear and powerful message:”

Sentencing the gang on Friday, Judge Brian Forster QC at Newcastle Crown Court said: "This was an unprecedented attack on the public revenue… The figures in this case are astonishing and reveal a blatant nature of the fraud. They persisted in dishonest trading despite numerous warnings from HMRC."

(DW)