West Lothian fraudsters who stole millions of pounds of VAT jailed for 22 years
The gang were sentenced on Tuesday following a trial at Glasgow High Court
The bosses of a West Lothian company who stole £8.8 million of VAT to splash on lavish homes, cars, diamonds and gold bullion have been jailed for more than 22 years.
Martin Lang, 68, Graeme Cullen, 54, Leslie Thompson, 63, and Graham Newall, 49, used a network of companies, including Linear Services based in Livingston, to carry out the fraud.
The companies charged VAT to clients for payroll services but over a 21-month period between 2015 and 2017 they failed to hand over the tax they owed to HMRC.
Instead, the money was redistributed to the fraudsters from various bank accounts, as well as to associates and family members.
The stolen money was then used to fund the criminals’ extravagant lifestyles, with cash splashed on expensive homes, holidays in Malaga, diamonds, trips to the Grand National and even gold bullion.
The gang were sentenced to a combined jail-time of 22 years on Tuesday, April 21.
Cullen, of Giffnock, Thompson, of Bathgate, and Newall, of Edinburgh, were convicted by a jury following a seven-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow of the fraudulent evasion of £8,831,124 in VAT payments.
Thompson was jailed for seven years, Cullen received a six-year prison sentence and Newall was sentenced to five years and six months behind bars.
Lang, of Cambuslang, was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing £4,813,493.
Prosecutor Sineidin Corrins, of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “This complex fraud was dismantled thanks to the tenacity, skill and dedication of prosecutors and HMRC investigators.
“I hope this sends a clear message to anyone involved in tax fraud that regardless of how complex it may be, we have the skills, resources and the determination to bring you to justice.
“The scale of the prison sentences reflects how seriously we view this offending against the UK tax system.
“Tax fraud is not a victimless crime. It steals money that funds the public services we all rely on in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
“These four individuals have now been brought to justice to account for their crimes.”
Thompson is already serving a six-year sentence for his role in an elaborate multi-million-pound tax fraud that led to convictions for a network of 20 corrupt company directors.
The 63-year-old, from Bathgate, was jailed in October, while his wife Beverley was handed a two-year suspended sentence for her role in the elaborate scam.