Jail term 'is tax fraud warning'

Warnings about tax fraud have followed the sentencing of a man who did not pay tax or National Insurance for 12 years.

Robert Newark, 61, of Herne Bay, Kent was jailed for 42 months on Thursday after pleading guilty to 15 counts of cheating the Inland Revenue.

His firm, The Bubble Factory, had an unpaid tax bill of more than £1m, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

On Friday, investigator Peter Crockford said the case sent a warning to anyone tempted to cheat the Inland Revenue.

This was fraud on a massive scale over a number of years Judge Webb

"Mr Newark didn't pay a penny in income tax for several years and he didn't pay the PAYE/National Insurance Contributions of his employees, even though his business was very successful," he said.

"He deducted tax from wages he paid and kept the money for himself."

During the court case, the court heard the turnover of Newark's business was more than £5m.

Sentencing Newark, Judge Webb said: "This was fraud on a massive scale over a number of years, where you were persistently and deliberately dishonest.

"These offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence is appropriate."

The Bubble Factory supplied bubble wrap packaging to supermarket suppliers and other companies, where it was used to protect fruit in plastic containers, the Inland Revenue said.

At its height, the business employed 12 people and had an annual turnover of £750,000, a spokesman added.