Jailed for tax evasion scam

Businessman gets two-and-a-half years

A potato merchant who blamed a “glitch” in his accounting system for a £160,000-plus VAT evasion scam was jailed for two-anda-half years at Perth Sheriff Court.

The prosecution has now raised a Proceeds of Crime action against 48-eight-year-old Scott Coupland in a bid to claw back some of the cash which he dishonestly obtained more than four years ago.

Appearing for sentence on Wednesday last week, first offender Coupland, of Leadenflower Road, Crieff, was unanimously found guilty last month of submitting two false tax repayment claims to HM Revenue and Customs.

A jury took less than an hour to convict the accused who was the sole director of WDR Coupland Produce Ltd, which operated from business premises in East High Street, Crieff.

His legal representative, Michael Meehan QC, asked that the sheriff consider deferring sentence for four months so he could obtain a £20,000 loan from his brother to make “partial repayment” to HMRC.

But Sheriff William Wood noted that Coupland, who served as a retained firefighter for 18 years, pointed out they were now “four years down the line” - and restitution ought to have been made at an earlier stage.

“Given the amounts involved, only a custodial sentence would be appropriate.”

Coupland was found guilty of fraudulently evading paying VAT totalling £ 124,172 or thereby by submitting false repayment claims between March 1, 2011, and June 6, 2012.

He was also convicted of a second charge - this time involving around £37,056.76p.

That took place between June 1, 2012, and November 30, 2012.

He claimed his computer had “crashed” in 2011 and he lost vital information relating to his returns.

That led to him re- keying VAT information going back several years, resulting in wrong details being submitted.

If he had been aware of any wrongdoing, he claimed he wouldn’t have continued submitting his returns the way he had.

But the jury didn’t believe him - and he was led in handcuffs from the dock.

Depute fiscal Craig Donald asked that the Proceeds of Crime action be continued for eight weeks.

That would allow inquiries to be made regarding a property which was owned by Coupland but subsequently transferred to his wife.

The Crown wants to find out whether the conveyancing took place for a financial consideration and, if so, where the cash went.

Coupland took over the potato business from his father in 2006 and had sole responsibility for the completion and submission of the VAT returns.

The court was told that after his business collapsed he now had three jobs – one as a joiner’s labourer and another as a supermarket delivery driver – in a bid to support his family.

HMRC compliance officer Chrystal Symons told the jury trial that their suspicions were aroused when Coupland claimed to have sold more than £2million-worth of potatoes in two months.

She said: “You would need to have a large company to be doing that amount of business.”

Tax officers subsequently obtained a search warrant and raided his premises on January 29, 2013, seizing computers, other IT equipment and documentation.

He subsequently avoided meeting VAT inspectors, on one occasion stating he had been stranded on a business trip to sell seed potatoes in Nigeria.

Imposing the jail term, Sheriff Wood said the accused actions indicated a “somewhat cavalier” attitude to corporate accounting.

He added: “This was a course of conduct in which you made seven false declarations over a period of 21 months - and you have shown no remorse.”

Mr Meehan pointed out that two of the claims for VAT repayment hadn’t been made.

A testimonial was submitted from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, with his former watch manager speaking of his “reliability and punctuality”.

The Proceeds of Crime action was continued until April 5.