Controlling mind of £1.28m VAT fraud gang gets further jail term

TWO members of an organised crime gang who defrauded a Government office in Yorkshire for £1.28m have been jailed for a total of nearly five years.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Nov 2013, 00:01 BST

Michael William Bostock, 39, was sentenced to three years and six months while Michael Ian Davies, 48, was imprisoned for 15 months for their part in the fraud against the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in York.

Police say the pair were part of a sophisticated gang who used the proceeds of their crimes to fund the purchase of luxury cars and £830,000 worth of gold. Two vehicles, a Range Rover and Porsche, were seized by North Yorkshire Police and the proceeds of their sale were held while the investigation continued.

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A judge at Leeds Crown Court yesterday ordered that £117,290, the money held as a result of the sale of the vehicles, a small amount of money held in the account of a gold bullion dealer plus interest, be paid to Defra immediately.

Bostock, from Stafford, described as “the controlling mind of this very complex fraud against the public purse”, is already serving a lengthy prison sentence for an unconnected fraud against Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. He admitted money laundering at a previous hearing. Davies, from Stone, Staffordshire, had already admitted money laundering and attempting to cheat the tax-payer.

In August fellow gang members, Robert Cann, 70, of Altrincham was jailed for 15 months, Paul Tinsley, 37, of Stoke on Trent was jailed for two years and two months, Paul Edwards, 30, of Newcastle-under-Lyme was jailed for three years and three months, and Thomas Cottam, 54, of Deganwy, Conwy, was given a 21-month jail term.

The group set up a number of bogus companies with the intention of making false claims for VAT to Defra.