|
Craig
Johnson, aged 35, spent £1.5 million on an eight-bedroom
mansion near Stone.
Meaford
Hall had a landing pad for his two helicopters, two carp
lakes and a spa with a gym.
Johnson,
now serving a 12-year prison sentence, was also a fan of
sports cars – which have all been seized by Customs
chiefs.
He
was part of a 21-strong gang, whose members have been
given lengthy sentences after being found guilty of taking
part in a series of complex VAT cons involving the fake
sales of mobile phones.
Until
now, court orders restricted the reporting of three
operations – Shepherd, Emersed and Shoot – which began
in 2002 and targeted the “dishonest manipulation” of
the tax system, HMRC said.
The
scam involved exporters claiming VAT credits for tax paid
on the purchase of phones which did not actually exist.
Known
as “missing trader” or carousel fraud, the scam
exploits the EU VAT system in which the indirect tax is
not charged on the sale of goods between VAT-registered
companies in different EU member states.
The
subsequent sale of products in the UK created a VAT
liability due from companies that “disappeared” –
the so-called “missing traders”.
A
freight company played a part in the scam, confirming the
legitimacy of the trade and providing false paperwork on
transport of the alleged phones. The gang would then
divide the profits of the con and launder them through
various bank accounts, including some based in Gibraltar
and Hong Kong.
Assets
seized from the fraudsters included a helicopter, a yacht,
two properties, luxury performance cars such as a Ducati
and two Bentleys, Rolex watches and diamonds.
Chris
Harrison, deputy director of operations, criminal
investigation for HMRC, said: “This was not some kind of
victimless crime, but organised fraud on a massive scale
perpetrated by criminals all bent on making fast and easy
profits at the expense of the British taxpayer.
“‘Missing
trader’ fraud is not merely a paper fraud but often
features links to other forms of criminal activity
including murder, shootings, kidnap, extortion and
intimidation which bring devastation to our
communities.”
Source
: expressandstar.com - Wolverhampton, England, UK, dated
27/09/2008
|
