Tycoon funded luxury lifestyle with VAT scam
Yachts and homes could be seized
At the helm of his luxury yacht, Joseph Quinn looked every inch the successful tycoon.
But the 63-year-old now faces jail after funding his lavish lifestyle through a £279,000 VAT scam.
Prosecutors are targeting his £1 million estate – including two yachts and three properties – under proceeds of crime laws.
Quinn, from Newton Mearns, Renfrewshire, portrayed himself as a selfless philanthropist, who even climbed Africa’s highest mountain to raise money for a children’s cancer charity.
His social media pages document foreign holidays with partner
‘An extremely serious matter’
Elaine and sailing trips on the Isolda – a twin-masted yacht worth more than £300,000.
But last week, at Paisley Sheriff Court, it emerged that he is a fraudster who cooked the books while director of four firms.
Quinn submitted bogus claims for VAT repayments, netting hundreds of thousands of pounds.
He was exposed during checks by compliance officers from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
As well as his £400,000 family home, Quinn faces losing a £200,000 house and a £120,000 flat in Thornliebank, Renfrewshire.
He has more than £90,000 in the bank and owns two yachts – Isolda and Badger Moon, worth £80,000.
The court heard Quinn’s fraud took place between February 2014 and December 2015, while he ran four firms in Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire – PA Marine Limited, PA Legal Limited, PA 145 Limited, and PA Property Limited.
Compliance officers checked figures from PA Legal for its 20112013 VAT repayment submission and Quinn supplied two invoices to back it up. But, when HMRC asked Quinn for bank statements to support the invoices, he failed to produce them. He was then told his other businesses would be inspected but ignored the letter.
In May 2016, compliance officers visited the principal place of business for the companies at Devol Industrial Estate, Port Glasgow, to find that the building appeared to be empty.
The case was then passed to HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service. VAT repayment submissions were checked against bank accounts controlled by Quinn and HMRC found that bank records did not support any VAT submission – with £152,361 being claimed without any apparent foundation.
Quinn was detained in 2017 and taken to Cathcart police station in Glasgow. When he was asked if bank records would back up the VAT repayment claims, he said: ‘Probably not. No.’
Asked if figures submitted were accurate, Quinn replied: ‘No.’
He pleaded guilty last week to obtaining £152,361 through fraud.
Sheriff David Pender was told by prosecutors that the total Quinn made was actually £279,329 – and that he had £741,639 in assets which could be seized.
The sheriff said it was an ‘extremely serious’ matter and adjourned the case against Quinn – who could be jailed for five years – for background reports.