A tax agent who stole more than £750,000 through tax and mortgage fraud has been jailed for 10 years.
Robin Moss was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court for defrauding 16 victims in Nottingham –splashing out hundreds of thousands of pounds on luxury items, including more than £115,000 on collectible Moorcroft pottery, £89,251 on gold coins and £18,930 on jewellery.
The HMRC said he "abused his position" of trust to steal from clients and the taxpayer. It said the 58-year-old lied about his income, made bogus claims in the names of unsuspecting clients and provided false documents that were used in fraudulent mortgage applications.
It said Moss persuaded one client to pay their £53,000 tax bill through him, which he then paid straight into his bank account, rather than paying it to HMRC.
HMRC said other clients had their HMRC details used by Moss to make false tax repayments, which he had paid into his own bank accounts. A joint investigation by the HMRC and Leicestershire Police led to Moss being convicted of tax fraud, money laundering, mortgage fraud and theft.
Moss, of Skorzewo Ul, Morwowa, Poland, failed to attend his sentencing.
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."
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 that 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.”
