Tax cheat gang sentenced for £180k scam

Six people were sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court for cheating the tax system

Six people who attempted to cheat £180,000 in tax repayments out of the government have been sentenced.

The group declared "grossly inflated" incomes and "invented" expenses and deductions in self-assessments to HMRC between 2018 and 2021, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Leader Raigan Harrison, 30, who admitted 10 offences, was given a suspended sentence after the court heard she had been "pressured" and "threatened" to let criminals use her details to make the false claims.

Judge Gavin Doig said taxpayers "had lost" because of the group's actions.

The court heard Harrison, from Jarrow, was the first to have a fraudulent self-assessment falsely submitted which claimed she was due repayment under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

Five others also made claims with payments sent to Harrison's bank account, the court heard.

Money was swiftly moved to other accounts or spent, including a £455 purchase from Gucci, the court heard.

Each application claimed to have been completed by a fictional tax adviser, which prosecutor Angus Macdonald said was a "lie" the fraudsters thought "added credibility" to their claims and made it "less likely HMRC would query them".

In total they attempted to claim about £180,000, with just more than £100,000 paid out and the rest paused due to HMRC's concerns about the "veracity of the applications," Mr Macdonald added.

The prosecutor said the offending came to light when HMRC "noticed a pattern of false assessment claims being made by the same people in the same area".

He said they made either "grossly inflated" or totally false claims about their income, "invented" expenses which they "never incurred" and "erroneously" declared deductions under the CIS.

"They inputted false information which triggered repayments to which none of them were entitled," Mr Macdonald said.

'Exploited'

In mitigation for Harrison, Glenn Gatland said she was a "very vulnerable" woman who was "not the main player" in the fraud.

He said she was dyslexic and "unable to read or write", had never had a job and was "not capable of filling out a tax return".

Mr Gatland said she was "pressured" and "threatened" into handing over her personal details to criminals to pay off a "large drugs debt" accrued after the death of a friend, and then she transferred money she received to others.

He said Harrison was "very liable to being coerced and exploited".

Lawyers for the other defendants said they were remorseful and had been in dire financial situations at the time of their offending.

The defendants, who admitted offences including cheating public revenue and money laundering, were:

• Raigan Harrison, 30, of Sandiacres, Jarrow, jailed for two years suspended for two years

• James Balderson, 33, of Tatham Street, Sunderland, jailed for eight months

• Jade Gallagher, 31, address withheld, jailed for 10 months suspended for two years with 100 hours unpaid work

• Jordan Winn, 33, of Hemsley Road, South Shields, jailed for nine months suspended for two years with 100 hours unpaid work

• Kieron Cooper, 31, of Lawnsway, Jarrow, jailed for 10 months suspended for two years with 200 hours unpaid work

• Kieran Lincoln, 30, of Ellison Street, Jarrow, jailed for nine months suspended for two years with 100 hours unpaid work

Judge Doig said there were "substantial" fraudulent payments funded by taxpayers, adding: "Everybody has lost as a result of your actions."

He said Harrison was a "leader" and while she was "not controlling" the fraud, she was "far more involved than her co-accused" and benefitted financially from it.

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