A crooked tax agent who stole more than £750,000 in a tax and mortgage fraud has been jailed for ten years.
The man lied about his income, made bogus claims in the names of unsuspecting clients, and provided false documents that were used in fraudulent mortgage applications.
The 58-year-old was convicted in absence of tax fraud, money laundering, mortgage fraud and theft following a joint investigation between HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit.
The man persuaded one client to pay their £53,000 tax bill through the crooked agent, who paid it straight into his bank account rather than paying it to HMRC.
Other clients had their HMRC details used to make false tax repayments which the man had paid into his own bank accounts.
He splashed hundreds of thousands of pounds from the proceeds of his crimes on luxury items, including more than £115,000 on collectible Moorcroft pottery, £89,251 on gold coins and £18,930 on jewellery.
His wife also admitted a £115,000 money laundering charge on 9 June 2023.
The man failed to attend sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court on 9 October, and his wife attended via video link.
He was sentenced to ten years in prison, and she was sentenced to seven months in prison, suspended for 12 months.
Nick Stone, Operational Lead in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said:
“Robin Moss abused his position of trust to steal from clients and the taxpayer.
“Tax fraud is never a victimless crime and the eye watering sums he spent on pottery and gold should have been funding the public services we all rely on.
“I hope this sentence serves as a warning to the minority of corrupt professionals who wrongly believe they can use their knowledge to commit fraud.
“We can and will work with our law enforcement partners to bring you to justice and we encourage anyone with information about any type of tax fraud to report it online.”
Former Leicestershire Police Detective, Jason Helmn, who now works for the East Midlands Special Operations Unit said:
“It took the jury just 55 minutes to find Robin Moss guilty, and I’m glad they saw how this so called ‘professional’ was taking advantage of his clients, who believed his work was genuine.
“He went to great lengths to hide his criminality, shown in a complex web of transactions which proved how he converted his criminally obtained funds into cash and high value items.
“This has been a lengthy investigation and one that has required a lot of hard work and tenacity across both police and HMRC.”
A third person also admitted mortgage fraud using false documents. He pleaded guilty in May 2021 and was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, on 9 October 2023.
Action to recover the stolen money is underway.
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