Butcher behind £3m VAT fraud given five years

Gary Turner created so many false invoices to support his claims he had to have extra shelves built in his office at his West Yorkshire home.

When his dishonesty was finally exposed last year officers found 22,000 pages of bogus documents he had used to support his lies over more than 14 years.

As well as living expenses he used his quarterly tax refunds for home improvements, sailing holidays, fishing trips, high performance cars with private registration plates and a stash of expensive watches.

Jailing Turner, a father of six, at Leeds Crown Court yesterday Judge Penelope Belcher told him: “This was not need, this was greed. This was supporting a lavish lifestyle at the expense of the Government and lawful tax payers across the country.”

The fraud was deliberate, sophisticated and over a substantial period of time, since he had not only continued to claim for his butcher’s business after it closed but had invented a second wholly fictitious meat wholesaling business to double his claims.

His was also not a victimless crime, since the money he received could have been spent on the NHS or education to the benefit of all.

The judge said he also could not rely on blaming the HMRC for not exposing the fraud sooner since he could have owned up years ago.

She said an inspector had a gut feeling that something was wrong in 2000 when she saw the unoccupied butcher’s store in Dewsbury Road, Leeds but it was sadly 11 years later before some phone calls by another inspector saw the whole fraud “come tumbling down like a pack of cards.”

His family, unaware of his dishonest activities had benefited in the past and were standing by him, but would now be the losers, she said.

Turner, 47, of Grange Park Drive, Churwell, Morley, admitted two charges of making false statements to cheat the revenue.

The court was told his successful butcher’s business hit financial difficulties after expanding into franchises within four Kwik Save branches.

Turner inflated a genuine VAT claim in 1994 and told HMRC officers when it was not challenged he carried on and continued to send in sham claims even after the business ceased trading in 1998.

He also created the wholly fictitious meat wholesale business and it was when a VAT inspector checked on invoices for that firm with the companies purporting to be named, he discovered the fraud last year.

Peter Hollier HMRC Assistant Director said Turner had gone to a great deal of effort to hide his crime “but our investigators unravelled what he thought was a water-tight scam.”

Simon Rowlinson specialist prosecutor for the CPS Central Fraud Group said: “We are now determined to go after Turner’s illicit gains and get the money back into the public purse for the benefit of the British public.”

“Court proceedings will continue as we identify the assets bought with criminal money to confiscate, including houses, jewellery and other luxury items beyond the means of most working people.”