The hilarity continues....
TWO sisters accused of a fraudulent £161 million VAT claim, are alleged to have enquired with Liverpool FC about advertising their businesses on hoardings at Anfield.
Andrea Vaughan-Owen, 42, and her sister Roberta, 37, from Colwyn Bay, wanted to obtain invoices for items that cost large sums of money in order to rack up a massive VAT rebate bill, a court heard.
It’s claimed the older of the two sisters had also inquired about a £3.5m country house, while the younger one, who can’t drive, tried to order a dozen Land Rovers from a Conwy dealership and a Rolls Royce Phantom worth more than £300,000.
They had also sought invoices from website developers and a security firm to present them to VAT officials for refunds, as they were under financial pressure to make mortgage and car payments, a jury at Caernarfon Crown Court was told.
Continuing his opening of the case, prosecutor Paul Taylor said the sisters, of Cwrt Bedw, Colwyn Bay, had “moved up a gear” when money from insurance and working tax credit fiddles was stopped.
“The solution to funding a lifestyle beyond the dreams of most honest working people was VAT fraud with a whopping claim for £161 million,” the barrister said.
He said the sisters set up companies and registered them with VAT officials and showed an interest in buying items which cost a lot of money in order to obtain a VAT refund.
In December 2008 they enquired with officials of Liverpool FC about the cost of advertising their recruitment agency on the electronic advertising boards around the pitch.
“This would have cost £75,000 for three minutes. In an e-mail the sisters said there was no limit to their requirements. It was a way to get an invoice to rack up their VAT bill,” he said.
Two claims were made, one for £140,000 and the other for £161 million.
“They took steps to defraud the public purse of what is a large amount of money, £140,000 but the final charge against them, making a claim of £161 million, makes the first claim look almost trivial. But there are many pieces of evidence that shows they really did expect to get this money,” Mr Taylor said.
He said money from a series of alleged insurance and working tax credit fiddles stopped in early 2008 and they had fallen into arrears with their mortgages and car payments. Repossession proceedings were started but they decided to borrow their way out of trouble said Mr Taylor.
In March, Roberta Vaughan-Owen is said to have offered nearly £700,000 for another house on the Cwrt Bedw estate, despite the asking price being only £475,000.
Mr Taylor said the sisters hoped to pay for this house with a £750,000 loan from a finance company. But they never provided evidence of their income and the loan was not granted.
Despite the car being subject of finance Andrea Vaughan-Owen tried to part exchange the vehicle for a new one in May 2008. In July she approached an estate agent and expressed interest in buying Plas Ty Coch, a country house near Caernarfon, which was on the market for £3.5m.
Andrea Vaughan-Owen, a former post office worker, and Roberta Vaughan-Owen, who once worked as a civilian for North Wales police, deny furnishing false information by submitting a claim for a VAT refund of £161 million in 2008, registering companies for VAT purposes and attempting to obtain invoices to substantiate a claim for a VAT repayment, insurance fraud, and being involved in fraudulent activity to obtain tax credit payments.
The trial continues.
