£50m Inland Revenue fraudsters jailed
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Fraudsters from
Dartford who plotted to steal £50m in a tax scam have
been jailed.
The trio siphoned off more than £560,000 from HM
Revenue and Customs before they were caught by officials.
They were sold taxpayers' identitites by three corrupt
HMRC staff and then used them to receive fraudulent tax
repayments obtained from legitimate self assessment 
accounts.
Olamide Coker, 33, and Olaniyi Akinyemi, 32, were both jailed
for three years at Maidstone Crown Court. Rufina Ulom, 30, will
sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars. All
three had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and
have been recommended for deportation after 
their release.
HMRC officers seized laptops and documents linking the three to
the fraud at their home in Chapman Court, Dartford. They were
arrested in June 2009.
Three former HMRC employees have been sentenced for a total of
eight years for their part in the fraud.
An HMRC spokesman said the total figure that could have been
stolen, had it not intervened, would have topped £50m. It will
be seeking orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act to get the money
back.
For the full story see next week's Dartford Messenger.
Friday, March 19 2010
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