A trader in disability equipment swindled more than £1m from the HMRC to fund a lavish lifestyle and pay off his gambling debts.
Nicholas Duffy, 59, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today (Friday) to be sentenced after pleading guilty to two charges of VAT fraud and of money laundering.
The court heard that Duffy, of Worcester Road, Bootle, had started a business called Market Mobility in 2005, for the sale of new and used mobility equipment. These products were zero rated for VAT purposes, but over a period of nine years Duffy, as the sole trader, had claimed VAT back from HMRC to the value of nearly £1.4m.
