A Welsh businessman who stole almost £1.9m of public money bought four houses including three luxury Spanish villas.
Fraudster Graham Drury pocketed the cash and lived a lavish lifestyle with regular trips to his Spanish boltholes.
But the 69-year-old is now behind bars after his VAT fraud was detected and is beginning a jail sentence of more than five years.
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Drury carried out the con by submitting fraudulent VAT returns to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The claims were made through his company, Drury Machine Sales Ltd, to cover VAT payments made on machinery that was never purchased.
Drury used the stolen money to buy four properties – one in the UK plus three Spanish villas which he regularly visited on holiday.
Suspicions were first raised by HMRC officers when Companies House records showed Drury’s printing and packaging machinery business was making a profit as this did not match the information submitted in fabricated VAT returns.
Drury claimed to have bought machinery from businesses but, despite not receiving the goods, he would claim the VAT back from HMRC.
He was arrested on 13 January 2019 and subsequently charged with VAT fraud totalling £1,897,221. Drury, of Strathalyn, Rossett, Wrexham, later admitted the fraudulent evasion of VAT between July 2014 and August 2017 and has now been jailed at Mold Crown Court for five and a half years. He’s also been disqualified from acting as a company director for 10 years.
Confiscation proceedings are under way to recover the stolen money.
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The assistant director of HMRC’s fraud investigation service, Steve Doyle, said: “Drury stole vital taxpayers’ money to fund a lifestyle well beyond his means and now he is paying the price with a prison sentence. Our action does not stop here as we will work to recover this stolen money.
“Tax fraud is not a victimless crime as it is stealing from the public purse, which helps fund services like the NHS. We encourage anyone with information about VAT fraud to report it online or call the fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.”
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