Brothers jailed in £1m film tax fraud plot

Craig Rees and Carl Rees have each been sentenced to seven years in prison

Two brothers have been jailed after trying to steal £1m in a film tax fraud operation.

Craig Rees, 50 and Carl Rees, 52, from Warwickshire submitted inflated or “completely made up” tax relief claims to HM Revenue and Customs, the authority said.

The pair set up film production companies to forge documents for three films - one of which was a fake, while the other two were moved to the USA.

The siblings, both of Shakespeare Avenue, Warwick, were each sentenced to seven years in prison at a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday.

They had been found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue.

To qualify for Film Tax Relief (FTR), at least 25% of the production costs had to relate to activity in the UK at the time they made their claims between 2011 and 2015.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said in total, they tried to steal £542,840 in FTR and £484,933 of VAT repayment claims over a four-year period from October 2011.

Believed to be in Ukraine

They are believed to have received more than £367,000 of the payments.

Craig Rees was sentenced in absence after absconding in January - his brother told the court he was in Ukraine, HMRC said.

It has appealed for anyone with information of his whereabouts to come forward.

Mark Robinson, operational lead in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said: "Film Tax Relief is there to help genuine, honest film companies produce brilliant British films, but these brothers thought they could play the system for personal gain."