Potato merchant jailed over £160,000 VAT fraud

Scott Coupland, 48, of Crieff, Perthshire, had been found guilty of a £160,000 VAT fraud after coming under suspicion from HMRC when he told the taxman that he had sold more than £2m worth of potatoes in less than two months.

HMRC launched an investigation and raided Coupland’s home in a bid to see the company’s records but Coupland repeatedly dodged meeting investigators.

The court was told the merchant cancelled several interviews at the last minute, including one occasion he was unable to meet the tax inspectors because he had been stranded on a business trip to sell seed potatoes in Nigeria.

However, authorities finally discovered that Coupland had made false VAT repayment claims to dupe the taxman out of £124,000 between March 2011 and June 2012.

He was caught when he tried to defraud HMRC of a further £37,000 between June and November 2012.

He was convicted by jury at of the large-scale tax evasion after a four-day trial and sentenced yestersday.

Perth Sheriff Court had heard how Coupland had been paying private school tuition fees for two children and had carried-out the scam to fund his lifestyle.

Sheriff William Wood said Coupland, who also worked as a retained firefighter, had made no attempt to pay back the money and had to go to jail despite his previous good character and service to the community.

Sheriff Wood said: “I take into account the fact your business was a legitimate one and I daresay claims were made to fund your lifestyle and continue your children’s education.

“It should have been clear your business was failing. You had a somewhat cavalier approach to corporate accounting. This was a course of conduct in which you made seven false declarations over 21 months.

“You have shown no remorse or acceptance of culpability and made no offer of restitution until today. There was no reason for these claims to have been made.

“I appreciate the impact this will no doubt have on your family, but I will sentence you to two years and six months imprisonment. You bear sole responsibility for these offences.”