Directors jailed for VAT fraud

Two directors of a Bedford company have been jailed for their part in a £900,000 VAT fraud.

Martin Edwards, 37, who was company secretary at Bedford company Weldtite Engineering, was jailed for 21 months at Luton Crown Court on Wednesday.

Leslie Sharman, a partly qualified accountant and also a director of the firm, was jailed for 15 months.

Edwards, of Northwood End Road, Haynes, and Sharman, of Astwood Drive, Flitwick, pleaded guilty to a charge of fraudulent evasion of VAT between June 1997 and February 2000.

Assets hearing

A hearing will take place next year to consider confiscating assets to cover their individual benefits from the fraud - £150,000 in Edward's case and £58,000 for Sharman.

John Butcher, prosecuting said the Weldtite name had been linked to several companies which had a history of running up VAT debts - which then closed down and reformed under another name.

He said the company in this case was formed in January 1997 and was wound up in October 1999.

"During the entire life of this company only one VAT return was submitted and that was a nil return," he said.

Customs and Excise had since estimated that VAT totalling £906,466 should have been paid.