£1m fraud builder enjoyed 'lavish' Las Vegas spree

A builder who spent thousands of pounds from his £1m VAT scam on a "lavish" spree in Las Vegas has been jailed for almost seven years.

Gary Briggs, 52, already had a history of fraud when he set up two companies in a bid to falsely get money out of HMRC in 2019 and 2020, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

As well as going on gambling expeditions and buying expensive watches and cars, he also laundered almost £70,000 through the bank accounts of three close relatives.

Briggs, from Hartlepool, had initially denied wrongdoing but admitted cheating the public revenue and money laundering after his trial had begun. Judge Gavin Doig said Briggs had been stealing from "all of us in this country".

In mid 2018, Briggs, from Dalton Piercy, set up two companies, Goldrose Construction Limited (GCL) and Goldrose Demolition And Developments Limited (GDDL), prosecutor James Lake said.

Between May 2019 and January 2020, he submitted forms to HMRC claiming false VAT repayments totalling about £750,000 for GLC, of which he was paid £645,000, the court heard.

He fraudulently claimed about £517,000 on behalf of GDDL, of which he got about £335,000 before HMRC stopped further payments pending their investigation.

In total he claimed £1,255,395.19 with 13 false claims, and "netted" about £980,000, the court heard.

He based his lies on a mixture of false invoices from real companies, such as building material merchants and recruitment agencies, and fake transactions between his two firms, the court heard.

When HMRC paused any further payments in January 2020, Briggs contacted them to ask where the anticipated £350,000 was and sent further fake invoices in a bid to get them to pay him, Lake said.

The investigation showed as soon as money was paid by HMRC to the two firms, Briggs moved it to his personal accounts and accounts in America, made "high value" purchases and withdrew large amounts of cash in the UK and USA, the court heard.

For example, after getting £170,000 of fraudulent funds on 10 January 2020, Briggs "wasted no time" in spending it in a "lavish" way, Lake said.

He transferred £50,000 to his personal bank account and spent £5,000 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on the same day, the court heard.

He almost made payments totalling about £55,000 to Las Vegas' "largest exotic car dealer" and bought an "expensive Rolex watch", the court heard.

The three relatives whose bank accounts he put money through were also due to be prosecuted but after Briggs' guilty pleas, no evidence was offered and each was acquitted.

Briggs already had 51 offences on his criminal record, 27 of which were for dishonesty, Lake said.

In 2010 he was jailed for 18 months for fraud, obtaining money by theft and deception, the court heard, after his building firm wrote out cheques to buy building materials which he knew would bounce.

In mitigation, it was claimed Briggs began the VAT fraud due to financial issues facing his company, although he accepted he was later motivated by financial gain.

The court heard he currently worked as a freelance construction consultant for a firm based in Las Vegas for which he was paid $20,000 a month.

Proceeds of crime proceedings have been launched against Briggs, the court heard.

Judge Gavin Doig said few people enjoyed paying taxes but the "vast majority of people in this country" did contribute to the "upkeep of the nation".

"Anyone who defrauds that system is not stealing from the government, he is stealing from all of us", the judge said, adding such thefts meant there was less money to be spent on "those things we all value and rely on" such as schooling, healthcare and the military.

He said it was not a case of Briggs failing to pay his share but rather taking money "from that pot" for himself, money which would "otherwise have been spent by the government to benefit us all" and which would have to be made good by "honest taxpayers".

"In effect what you did was to steal from all of us in this country," Doig told Briggs.

He said Briggs claimed he committed the crimes as his companies were failing but in reality he "frittered" the money away.

Briggs was jailed for six years 10 months.

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