A Lego-loving fraudster spent thousands of pounds on toys, home refurbishments, and trips to Disneyland.
Lee Hickinbottom, 49, worked with his former partner, Tabatha Knott, 34, to fraudulently submit £1.3m in VAT repayment claims to HMRC between 2014 and 2017. The 49-year-old submitted most of the claims through his Serenity Community Transport business and provided false invoices.
With the stolen cash the pair enjoyed dream holidays and visited Disneyland, the Louvre in Paris and the Empire State Building in New York. They also s pent hundreds of thousands of pounds buying and improving their Dudley home, which included splashing out more than £13,000 on a luxury hot tub that had to be installed with a crane.
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The fraudster also bought £20,000 of shares in a confectionery company, spent £4,220 supporting Everton Football Club and treated himself to more than £1,500 worth of Lego. In a failed attempt to hide his criminality Hickinbottom moved cash between numerous personal bank accounts he had set up in his own name.
Other attempts included transferring £346,512 to family and friends, sending £76,908 to Knott. During a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court, in December 2020, Hickinbottom pleaded guilty to dishonestly claiming £28,000 of Job Seekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance between July 2013 and October 2016.
The pair were found guilty of VAT fraud on March 25, following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court. Knott was also convicted of money laundering offences.
At the pairs sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, May 20, Lee Hickinbottom was sentenced to eight years in prison and Tabatha Knott was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.
Nick Stone, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “This was a sustained attack on the tax system that funds the vital public services we all rely on. Lee Hickinbottom stole from taxpayers to feed a love of Lego sets, luxury cars, and top of the range hot tubs.
"He was driven by greed. He enjoyed holidays and a lavish lifestyle that most honest, law-abiding taxpayers’ can only dream of. His sentence sends a very clear warning that we can and will bring tax fraudsters before the courts to face justice.
"We encourage anyone with information about any type of tax fraud or money laundering to report it to us online."
Confiscation proceedings are underway to recover the stolen money.
