A businesswoman swindled more than £300,000 in VAT fraud, a court heard. Melanie Paddon was running Bristol-based Imperial Design when she made improper tax claims to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
The 59-year-old, whose address was given as Pembroke Road in Clifton, pleaded guilty to furnishing false submissions between September 2013 and December 2017. Bristol Crown Court heard the value of the offence amounted to some £334,000, but Paddon was said to have paid back £340,000.
Judge James Patrick handed her a two-year jail term, suspended for 18 months. He told Paddon: "If you and I meet again you'll have every expectation you can go to prison."
