Daventry father and son's supercar lifestyle funded by 拢1.5m tax fraud

Image source, HMRC

Image caption, More than 拢42,000 found in Phillip Butchers' bathroom safe has now been forfeited

A businessman has been jailed for a 拢1.5m tax fraud that funded supercars and lavish holidays for his family.

Geoffrey Butchers, 71, failed to declare sales for his horsebox business for eight years, and lied about sales on a second company set up in 2015.

He was jailed for 26 months after admitting VAT fraud.

He and son Phillip, both of Daventry, Northamptonshire, drove Ferraris and Aston Martins bought with the proceeds, Northampton Crown Court heard.

Phillip Butchers, 26, admitted a charge of using or controlling criminal property. He was handed a sentence of 20 months suspended for two years and ordered to pay 拢2,000 in costs.

The younger man also spent thousands of pounds on designer clothes and enjoyed holidays to Rio de Janeiro and Abu Dhabi.

Geoffrey Butchers failed to declare sales on his first company, Autojoint, between 2007 and 2015, then lied about the value of sales on a second business, Horseboxseller Ltd, founded in 2015, the court heard.

He had registered Autojoint for VAT in 2004 but deregistered it three years later.

He told HMRC it had stopped trading but continued buying and selling horse boxes until 2015 without paying VAT.

HMRC investigators searched the family home in July 2016 and found 拢42,000 hidden in a bathroom safe, which has now been forfeited.

Nick Stone of HMRC said: "This fraud funded an extravagant lifestyle these men could not legitimately afford.

"They hid more than 拢40,000 in a bathroom safe and drove around in supercars while other honest, hard-working people paid the taxes they owed.

"We will now do all we can to recover the stolen cash from this father and son."