PE teacher, 26, convicted over £100,000 tax fraud Lived high life after claiming financial losses at coaching firm
ABIRMINGHAM teacher stole £100,000 of tax repayments to spend on online gambling, a holiday to Las Vegas and Leeds United football matches.
Blaine Wakeman, 26, lied about purchases and financial losses from his two companies which provided children’s sports coaching to fraudulently claim VAT repayments.
He has now been handed a suspended 21-month prison sentence following an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs.
Facebook pictures showed Wakeman previously enjoying a luxury holiday to Las Vegas.
He posed for pictures outside the famous Caesars Palace and during a trip to the Grand Canyon.
Wakeman, of Spiceland Road, in Shenley Fields, also spent money on other holidays, football matches and golf memberships.
He had been working as a PE teacher at Grace Academy in Solihull.
But Wakeman had previously run two companies – Sports Plus Scheme Staffordshire and Inspire Sports Education Limited.
HMRC checks raised concerns about the tax returns of the firms and a criminal investigation was launched in June 2016.
Wakeman initially denied any wrongdoing and produced fake invoices and bank statements to support his lies.
But in October 2017 he admitted producing the false documents and fraudulently claiming VAT repayments between October 2013 and August 2016.
A probe discovered Wakeman had used the cash, totalling £100,000, to fund an online gambling habit.
Richard Young, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Wakeman knew what he was doing was wrong.
“He was abusing the tax system to fund a lifestyle he couldn’t legitimately afford.”
He added: “Tax fraud is not a vic- timless crime. It affects us all by depriving the public services of vital funding.
“I would ask anyone with information about tax fraud to report it online or call 0800 788 887.”
A statement released by the school confirmed: “Blaine Wakeman no longer works at Grace Academy Soli- hull. Obviously this behaviour does not reflect the core values of the Academy or the level of integrity we expect from all our staff.
“Grace Academy has not, at any time, had any involvement with Mr Wakeman’s external business interests, or been contacted by HMRC as part of their investigation.”