A CONVICTED fraudster enjoyed two holidays in Jamaica on the proceeds of a £39,000 bogus company scam.

Phillip Scott-Crawford fleeced the taxpayer by making eight claims for repayment of VAT on three non-existent businesses, Bradford Crown Court was told yesterday.

Scott-Crawford, who had 15 previous convictions for fraud and dishonesty offences, closed down the car hire companies after registering them for VAT and claiming a total of £39,355 back, prosecutor Kate Batty said.

He pleaded guilty to fraud, between 2011 and 2014, bolstering the scam by submitting false invoices purporting to be for buying cars.

Mrs Batty said Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs paid the VAT refunds directly into his bank account.

Scott-Crawford, 51, of Gain Lane, Fagley, Bradford, had spent all the money, treating himself to luxuries, including expensive holidays, the court was told.

The court also heard that when the police seized his computer, they found proof of the bogus claims.

Officers also found a booking from Manchester to Montego Bay in Jamaica, made in April, 2013, for a two-and-a-half week holiday.

Scott-Crawford initially denied any wrongdoing when arrested, telling officers from the Specialist Fraud Division he worked at Asda supermarkets.

Mrs Batty said HMRC became suspicious during the lifetime of the second non-existent company and uncovered the fraud after the third was registered.

Scott-Crawford’s previous offences included false accounting, obtaining money by deception, theft and battery.

Mrs Batty said the actual loss from his dishonesty was £34,090 as not all the claims were paid out.

Scott-Crawford’s barrister, Stephen Wood, said he genuinely intended to set up a legitimate self-drive car hire company.

He had drawn up a business plan and spoken to his bank about it.

He got into financial difficulty and had suffered problems with drink and in his relationship.

Mr Wood said Scott-Crawford had since turned his life around.

He was a valued member of the team at work, was paying his taxes and no longer drank alcohol.

But Judge Colin Burn told Scott-Crawford: “Your record demonstrates that you are a fraudster. That is as simple as that.

“You claimed more than £39,000 from the public purse and funded luxuries with the money.”

However, Judge Burn said it would cost significantly more to imprison Scott-Crawford than he made in the fraud, and there would then be no prospect of him paying back the money.

He sentenced him to 18 months in jail, suspended for two years, with 300 hours of unpaid work, the maximum a court can impose.

Mrs Batty said a timetable may be set for a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

After the case, Sandra Smith, assistant director, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said Scott-Crawford had even claimed that he only spent holidays in Scarborough.

“This was a crime of pure greed and indulgence, built on a paper trail of lies," she said.

"He thought he could get away with sunning himself in the Caribbean at the taxpayer’s expense – he was wrong.

“HMRC is devoting more resources than ever before to cracking down on tax fraud. I urge anyone with information on this type of criminality to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000.”

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