A company director who fraudulently claimed almost £1,000,000 in false VAT returns spent the money on lavish trips to Las Vegas and luxury gifts. Gary Briggs, 52, of Dalton Piercy, Hartlepool, was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday for two offences of cheating public revenue and three counts of entering into a money laundering arrangement, to which he had pleaded guilty.
Fraudulent VAT returns and money laundering
Briggs set up two companies, Goldrose Construction Limited and Goldrose Demolition and Developments Limited. Between June 2019 and February 2020, he submitted false VAT returns for Goldrose Construction and fraudulently received £645,000. Between August 2019 and February 2020, he submitted false VAT returns on behalf of Goldrose Demolition and Developments, fraudulently receiving £335,000.
In total, he fraudulently received £980,000. The court was told he also laundered £69,605 into three family members' accounts. James Lake, prosecuting, said Briggs submitted 13 fraudulent VAT returns in total, relying on false transactions, and spent much of the money on "high-value gambling". Money was also transferred to other UK and US accounts.
Spending on Las Vegas trips and luxury items
The prosecutor said: "A huge amount of spending was used from fraudulent VAT payments. There were also further payments of just over £30,000 to Vegas Auto Gallery, the largest car dealer in Las Vegas." Briggs spent thousands of pounds during trips to Las Vegas, including £5,000 in Caesars Palace and £30,000 at Vegas Auto Gallery. Mr Lake added: "He also bought a Rolex, which was funded by the VAT repayments."
Mr Lake described the offences as "sophisticated, planned and persistent". Briggs was eventually caught after an HMRC investigation. The court heard he had 14 previous convictions for 51 offences, 27 of which were for dishonesty. In 2010, he was jailed for 18 months for fraud.
Defence and sentencing
Caleb Suggitt, defending, said Briggs, who is married and has two adult children, had shown "genuine remorse" and was the "financial linchpin of the family". He said: "He accepts they were deliberate acts of dishonesty, avoiding VAT, and that financial loss was caused to the public purse." Mr Suggitt said the scheme was "short lived" and carried out during "significant financial difficulty", and that Briggs is currently employed as a building consultant for a Las Vegas-based company, earning $20,000 a month.
Sentencing Briggs, Judge Gavin Doig said: "You knew exactly what you were doing. You frittered away money on gambling and high-value retail purchases, hotels and transfers to US banks and UK withdrawals." Briggs was jailed for six years and 10 months. A proceeds of crime hearing will take place on May 17.
