Six individuals have been sentenced for their attempts to defraud the government of £180,000 in tax repayments. The group inflated their incomes and fabricated expenses in self-assessment claims submitted to HMRC between 2018 and 2021, as revealed in Newcastle Crown Court.
Raigan Harrison, 30, the leader of the group, received a suspended sentence after the court heard she was “pressured” and “threatened” to allow criminals to use her details for the fraudulent claims. Judge Gavin Doig noted the loss to taxpayers resulting from their actions.
Harrison, from Jarrow, was the first to submit a fraudulent self-assessment claiming a repayment under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS). The court was informed that five others also submitted claims, with payments directed to Harrison’s bank account.
Funds were quickly moved to other accounts or spent, including a £455 purchase from Gucci. Each fraudulent application was falsely attributed to a fictional tax adviser, a tactic the group believed would lend credibility and reduce scrutiny from HMRC.
In total, the group attempted to claim approximately £180,000, with just over £100,000 paid out before the remainder was paused due to HMRC’s concerns about the authenticity of the claims. The scheme came to light when HMRC detected a pattern of false assessments submitted by the same individuals in the same area.
Prosecutor Angus Macdonald explained that the group made either “grossly inflated” claims or entirely false assertions about their income, invented expenses they had not incurred, and improperly declared deductions under the CIS. “They inputted false information that triggered repayments to which none of them were entitled,” Macdonald stated.
