HMRC will take action to recover money from a Wrexham fraudster who got more than £1.89m by exploiting a loophole, it has been said.

The Leader reported this week on the sentencing of 69-year-old Graham Drury, of Ridleywood Court.

He had previously admitted being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of Value Added Tax between July 2014 and August 2017.

At the Mold Crown Court hearing on Tuesday Brian Treadwell, prosecuting, said Drury made 31 consecutive applications seeking VAT repayment, each one bigger than the last, in respect of his company Drury Machine Sales.

But the business and its activities were "a fiction," the court heard, with false accounts claiming it had a turnover of £6million.

Steve Doyle, assistant director of the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said: “Drury stole vital taxpayers’ money to fund a lifestyle well beyond his means and now he is paying the price with a prison sentence.

"Our action does not stop here as we will work to recover this stolen money.

“Tax fraud is not a victimless crime as it is stealing from the public purse, which helps fund services like the NHS.

"We encourage anyone with information about VAT fraud to report it online or call the Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”

A HMRC spokesman added: "The claims were made through his company, Drury Machine Sales Ltd, to cover VAT payments made on machinery that was never purchased.

"Suspicions were first raised by HMRC officers when Companies House records showed Drury’s printing and packaging machinery business was making a profit, as this did not match the information submitted in fabricated VAT returns.

"Drury claimed to have bought machinery from businesses, but despite not receiving the goods, he would claim the VAT back from HMRC."

The court heard Drury bought homes in Spain and Rossett, with common outgoings that had little to do with business expenses including bills at hotels, restaurants and personal items.

When the offences came to light he was living in Spain.

Drury was asked to provide documentation and financial records for his company, but these were never supplied.

He claimed the information HMRC needed were stored on his laptop, but it was "stolen" at Alicante airport.

Judge David Hale told him: "You have pleaded guilty to stealing £1.89m from the public. That's what it comes down to.

"Month after month, for nearly three years, you applied for repayment from the VAT authorities.

"You got 31 payments back totalling £1.89m, which you treated as your own.

"You must have known the day would come when someone would think this cannot be right.

"Far too long after it started, they did.

"The cheque came every month, which you banked and spent.

"You were living the life of Riley for those three years knowing what would eventually happen."

He was jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Confiscation proceedings are now underway to recover the stolen money.

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