Four jailed for chainsaw fraud

FOUR men – one from Warrington – have been jailed for their part in a plot to steal nearly £290,000 in a VAT repayment fraud by claiming to trade in chainsaws that didn’t exist.
Dawn raids on domestic and business premises by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) resulted in the arrest of the four men.
Adrian Farley, assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC, said: “These men were driven by greed and thought they could line their pockets with money that should be paying for our public services. But they were mistaken, and today they are paying the price for their crime.”
The defendants maintained they were trading in top end chainsaws when in fact the goods never existed, in a version of “missing trader” fraud. They attempted to steal £290,000 but were stopped by HMRC after fraudulently reclaiming £169,000 in VAT repayments.
“Missing trader” fraud sees the creation of a contrived chain of companies, which reclaim VAT they have never actually paid on the sale of equipment in the UK and when the goods are exported.
Confiscation proceedings to reclaim the proceeds of the crime are underway.
The four men jailed, at Manchester Crown Court, were:
Ryan Kevin Ollerton, 26, Warrington Road, Glazebury, who received two years in prison and disqualified from being a company director for five years. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cheat the Revenue.
Paul Hackney, 26, from Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, who was sentenced to three years in prison and was disqualified from being a company director for five years after admitted conspiracy to cheat the Revenue.
Gareth David Charles Fitzgerald, 28, of Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, who received six months in prison and was disqualified from being a company director for five years after admitting fraudulent evasion of VAT.
Eugene Marsh, 53, of Liverpool, who was sentenced to six months in prison and was disqualified from being a director for five years after admitting fraudulent evasion of VAT.