Two businessmen who ran a lucrative teeth whitening import and sales operation have been jailed for evading nearly £9 million in tax, after their boasts of living the high life were cut short by investigators.
Alastair Ramage, 44, of York Close in Formby, and Ian Barnes, 53, of Southport Road in Lydiate, treated themselves to Land Rovers, designer goods, expensive jewellery and luxury holidays while failing to pay VAT and income tax over a seven-year period.
Lavish spending and offshore schemes
Liverpool Crown Court heard that the pair evaded £8,499,384.47 due to HM Revenue and Customs between 2016 and 2023. This included £5,307,549 in unpaid VAT from dealings by their business UK Teeth Whitening Ltd, later known as IBAR Trading UK. Ramage also evaded income tax of £1,228,792, while Barnes evaded £1,912,075.
The prosecution described how the scheme involved setting up various companies in the UK, Seychelles and Hong Kong. Messages recovered by investigators showed the pair's attitude, with one from December 2017 reading: "In a few hours we'll be in first class. F*** the peasants." Another, sent from Barnes to Ramage, stated: "46k a month, long may it continue."
Ramage later crowed: "I'm a money-making machine, I especially like spending it." He also told Barnes after being informed that "their friend had been raided by HMRC": "Does he charge VAT? If so, why? Madness. We're on the first plane out of here if they come knocking. We're talking millions and years in jail."
Spending spree and nightmares of capture
Records showed the two men spending £51,000 with Emirates and £155,000 with Virgin Atlantic in the 2018/19 tax year alone. The following period saw £55,000 lavished on holiday destinations and hotels, as well as £86,000 at a Land Rover dealership, £56,000 at David M Robinson jewellers and more than £100,000 at other designer stores.
In 2020/21, there were further "significant sums spent at designer stores", as well as more than £100,000 on watches and £182,000 on cryptocurrency. However, prosecutor Nicola Daley said: "Both continued to spend, but messages in January 2021 refer to Mr Ramage having started to have nightmares about being caught by HMRC, and, in July 2021, Mr Barton was joking, indicating that he would buy Mr Ramage's boat and houses and Mr Ramage replying 'need to before HMRC catches up with us'."
Ramage later messaged a "contact" during 2022 discussing "doing some business legit", stating: "It's amazing how little money you make when you pay tax. We've spent tens of thousands of pounds and literally hundreds of hours trying to figure out ways not to pay tax."
He went on to state that he planned to declare £200,000 as he "didn't mind paying some tax to keep the eyes off us". He was questioned by police in February 2023 and June 2024, with Barnes being interviewed in March 2023 and July 2024. Both answered no comment to all questions on each occasion.
Sentencing and recovery efforts
Both defendants admitted three counts of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of VAT and one of being knowingly concerned in the evasion of income tax. Barnes was handed four years and four months behind bars, while Ramage received four-and-a-half years.
Sentencing, Judge Katherine Pierpoint said: "The charges reflect a seven-year period of offending between 2016 and 2023. During that period of time, you formed various company in the United Kingdom and abroad in order to sell teeth whitening products."
She added: "When you set up your business back in 2016, you had a choice as to how it was run. You could have run a legitimate business, worked hard, made money, had a good living and paid what was properly due in taxes. You both chose not to. The reason for that was pure and simple, greed."
HMRC told the ECHO that the products imported and sold by Barnes and Ramage contained "dangerously high levels of hydrogen peroxide", with the two men having hatched plans to build neighbouring holiday homes with connecting tunnels and swimming pools shaped like teeth from the proceeds. Their spending also saw them splash out £16,000 on a limited edition Gucci baseball cap and more than £500 on an ice cream sundae at the Plaza Hotel in New York.
Investigators seized more than 120 luxury items worth nearly half a million pounds, including handbags, cash and jewellery stashed inside a hidden room in Barnes's home. HMRC also recovered several Rolex watches, designer clothing and footwear, accessories from brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Burberry and Tiffany and Co, bottles of champagne, a five-carat diamond ring and a gold bar.
The pair were found to have laundered their money through 118 bank accounts, credit cards and cryptocurrency trading platforms, with more than £3.4 million funnelled through Puerto Rico-based Euro Pacific Bank, which was shut down in 2022.
Zoe Gascoyne, director of HMRC's fraud investigation service, said following the hearing: "Barnes and Ramage knew they were stealing from taxpayers and selling dangerous products at the same time. Their messages show a complete disregard for the hard working majority who pay the taxes that fund our public services. Hiding stolen money in offshore accounts doesn't put anyone beyond reach, and my team will now work with partners at the Crown Prosecution Service to recover the money they stole."
