A Ramsgate-based tax adviser has been sent to prison after admitting to defrauding a client by asking them to pay a large sum that was supposed to cover an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) bill.
Lana Laws told his client they owed £45,516 ($61,376, €50,401) in capital gains tax (CGT), which the customer then transferred to him.
But Laws took the money himself instead of paying his client’s tax bill.
The victim did not realise what had happened until two years later, in February 2019, when they received a letter from HMRC showing that their CGT bill was still outstanding.
When the customer enquired about the issue, the taxman said it had never received the money.
Jailed
An investigation into Laws found that the money sent to the adviser was transferred into other accounts instead of being sent to HMRC.
The matter was then taken to Kent Police, which interviewed Laws under caution in September 2019, but the fraudster refused to comment.
On 18 December 2020, he pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and received a two-year and seven-month prison sentence at Canterbury Crown Court.
Investigating officer detective constable Jason Lynch said: “To be defrauded by your accountant, someone you trust and pay to take care of your finances, is a significant abuse of trust. The victim in this case employed the services of Laws in good faith and was completely misled by him.
“Laws not paying his client’s tax bill has had a big impact on the victim, both financially and emotionally. I am glad the court have recognised the seriousness of Laws’ criminality and imposed a custodial sentence.
“We have officers dedicated to tackling offences like these to ensure people like Laws don’t get away with such deception and, on this occasion, the offender has been convicted and sent to prison, where he’ll have time to reflect on his actions.”
