Two brothers - including one from Ely - who “thought they could line their own pockets with money needed to fund our vital public services” have been sentenced for a £50,000 tax fraud.
Brothers Carl Jones, 31, from Ely, and Christopher Jones, 32, from Peterborough, were caught making a number of changes to their self assessment tax returns in order to steal £49,375.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigators found that both men had submitted multiple versions of their tax returns to claim repayments they were not entitled to. On one occasion, eight different amendments to the same return were made, with each one used to maximise repayments.
Nick Stone, assistant director for the HMRC fraud investigation service, said: “The brothers thought they could line their own pockets with money needed to fund our vital public services.
“They did not stop to think about the impact their actions would have on the honest majority.
“Tax fraud is not a victimless crime. We would urge anyone with information about those involved to report it to HMRC online, or contact our fraud hotline on 0800 788 887.”
On the first day of the trial (November 12 2018), at Peterborough Crown Court, Christopher Jones pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation. Today he was jailed for two years.
On August 17, 2018, Carl Jones pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation, and today (December 17) at Peterborough Crown Court, he was handed an eight month sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
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