Fraudster convicted for making false VAT claims

A Birmingham businessman has been convicted of trying to steal £98,000 by submitting fraudulent VAT claims using 55 false invoices.

Harinderpal Singh Lotay, 39, of Moseley, was handed a suspended two-year prison sentence at Birmingham Crown Court. He had already repaid the £38,900 he had fraudulently received, with the other £59,000 had been withheld after HMRC began its investigation.

Judge Henderson, sitting at Birmingham Crown Court, described him as “cunning and devious” and handed him a two-year prison sentence, suspended for 15 months. He was also ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £1,500 court costs.

Lotay ran Tiger Blue Consultants where he was caught submitting bogus VAT repayment claims for three construction companies between 2010 and 2012.

Paul Fisher, assistant director at HMRC’s fraud investigation service, said: “This was a disgraceful attack on the VAT repayment system. Lotay stole money from other taxpayers and used it to dramatically increase his own monthly salary by more than 20 times.

“This case should serve as a warning to anyone who is tempted to abuse the VAT system that we are always checking. We will prosecute anyone who thinks they can steal money paid into the system by honest, hard-working taxpayers.”