A company director described as 'family man' has been spared jail despite cheating the public purse out of tens of thousands of pounds.
Justin Barker, a respected figure within the insolvency industry, failed to pay up more than £70,000 in income tax and VAT over the span of several years, the Liverpool Echo reports. The 49-year-old businessman did not field any self-assessment tax returns from 2012, a court was told.
He 'had a problem with cocaine' which 'destroyed his marriage' and was planning on trading his way out of the issue, his defence lawyer said. Barker walked free from Liverpool Crown Court yesterday (Friday) despite a judge saying all he had heard was 'a load of excuses'.
