Company director lied about earnings to avoid VAT

A LEEDS company director has been sentenced after he lied about his business’s sales and used his friend’s company to steal VAT.

Ilyas Elmi Hode, who ran two security companies in the city, hid sales to evade paying more than £180,000 in VAT, an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed.

He also falsely claimed Tax Credits and lied on tax returns to evade paying Income Tax and National Insurance.

Hode, 38, had told HMRC that his business made £25,000 a year but in reality he made more than £250,000.

He closed his company, Siti Security and Cleaning Limited, after HMRC started looking into his tax affairs in 2016 and set up a new company with friend Mohamed Abdi Godir.

Godir, 43, of St Wilfrids Avenue, Leeds, was the named owner of that company but investigations revealed Hode set up and ran the business entirely. Investigators found Hode had also continued to steal VAT.

Sandra Smith, assistant director of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, yesterday said: “Hode lied over and over again to steal taxpayers’ money. He knew HMRC was closing in on him and foolishly thought he could carry on cheating the public purse by setting up a new business.”

Hode, of Beech Avenue, Leeds, was found guilty of tax fraud and sentenced on April 20. He received two years in prison, suspended for two years, and 300 hours of unpaid work. The case concluded on Wednesday when Godir was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court to 75 hours of unpaid work for evading Income Tax and stealing Tax Credits totalling £8,539.