Tax cheat dog seller avoids jail and insists he can trade
BANKRUPT FRAUDSTER HAS STILL NOT LOST HIS LICENCE
The lifestyle you have enjoyed is as a result of you putting money in your pockets that you are not entitled to Judge Stephen Earl
THE tax-swindling boss of controversial Ivy Leaf Kennels has dodged jail.
And from the dock, Kevin Knox insisted: “I’m still allowed to trade”.
Complaints flooded in about dogs bought from the kennel dying within weeks.
However Durham County Council has now admitted it’s “still in the process” of deciding the fate of Knox’s pet shop licence.
And the 58-year-old told Wednesday’s sentencing: “I’ve not been refused a licence yet – I have been trading.”
However the court heard he HAS been made bankrupt – and is in the process of losing the family home he’d built himself.
Knox’s bumper tax dodge lasted eight years.
HMRC investigators rumbled it due to a discrepancy with a freebie offered with every dog.
Each dog sold at the Burnhope kennel came with four weeks of free insurance.
But the number of policies didn’t match the number of dogs he was selling.
Police became involved after it emerged Knox had skimmed cash from both his VAT and Income Tax bills.
“He made admissions in his interview that he had not been as honest as he could have been,” said prosecutor Graeme Cook.
Knox pleaded guilty in March to fraudulent evasion of tax and VAT.
The full amount Knox fiddled is unknown.
Both the CPS and Knox’s solicitors had forensic accountants scour his finances with the defence claiming it was £55,000 less than the crown’s claim.
Sentencing was almost adjourned to allow one accountant to return from her Florida holiday to testify.
However the court heard he’d racked up an illegal £81,000 VAT bill alone between 2008 and 2016, and faced up to four years behind bars.
A diary, believed to have contained logs of “dishonest” Knox’s finances, was never found.
As such the amounts were calculated using a “best guestimate”. In mitigation, it was said Knox had no previous convictions while his wife was largely dependent on his finances – which are now “precarious”. His Barrons Way home, on sale since August, had its price slashed recently by 20%. Judge Stephen Earl suspended his 20-month sentence for two years – but slammed his “heinous” scam. “This is no different to someone fiddling their benefits,” said the judge. “The lifestyle that you have enjoyed is as a result of you putting money in your pockets that you are not entitled to. “If people don’t pay the right amount than someone else will have to.” He ordered Knox to carry out 230 hours of unpaid work and pay £600 costs. The Crown had requested £1,500. The judge also asked Knox: “Are you done with dogs?” He answered neither yes or no. Michael Yeadon, health protection manager at Durham County Council, said: “We remain in the process of considering the renewal application submitted by Mr Knox and will be making a decision as soon as all relevant information and data has been examined.”