Couple spent £1m of public cash on luxury life – and Lego
APAIR of fraudsters spent over £1 million in taxpayers’ cash on luxury cars, dream holidays, a new house – and Lego sets.
Bogus Solihull transport firm boss Lee Hickinbottom was caught after conspiring with ex-partner Tabatha Knott to submit fraudulent VAT repayment claims to HMRC.
Hickinbottom submitted most of the claims for a fabricated business, Serenity Community Transport, and provided fake invoices. The 49-year-old also admitted benefit fraud totalling £28,000.
He and Knott, 34, used the cash to fund trips to Disneyland, the Louvre in Paris and the Empire State Building in New York.
They also paid £120,000 in cash to buy a house in Dudley and a further £127,000 on home improvements.
That included £22,741 on a luxury, high end kitchen, which featured a £3,000 Italian granite work surface, and more than £13,000 on a deluxe hot tub which had to be installed with a crane.
Hickinbottom, of Wolverhampton Street, Dudley, also bought £20,000 of shares in a confectionary company, spent £4,220 supporting Everton Football Club and treated himself to more than £1,500 worth of Lego kits.
HMRC officers uncovered the fraud when the claims, submitted between 2014 and 2017, were checked. In a failed attempt to hide his crimes, Hickinbottom moved cash between numerous personal bank accounts set up in his own name.
Other attempts included transferring £346,00 to family and friends, sending £77,000 to Knott. His banking records proved that he spent more than £250,000 on a fleet of flash cars, including £83,000 on a Jaguar F-Pace, £57,000 on two Jaguar XFs and £62,000 on a
Land Rover Defender. Two of the cars had personalised plates.
Other lavish lifestyle purchases included £18,000 on iTunes, £16,000 on Apple products and more than £1,000 on trips to Alton Towers.
During a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court in December 2020, Hickinbottom pleaded guilty to dishonestly claiming £28,000 in Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment Support Allowance between July 2013 and October 2016.
The pair were found guilty of VAT fraud following a trial.
Knott, of Bennett Avenue, Dudley, was also convicted of money-laundering offences.
Anamarie Coomansingh, of the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “Taxpayers’ money, which should have been spent on vital public services such as the NHS, education and social care, was instead used to fund the unearned and extravagant lifestyle these defendants enjoyed.
“The CPS will be inviting the court to put in place measures to prevent Lee Hickinbottom, a career criminal, from committing similar offences in the future. We will also be pursuing confiscation proceedings.”
Hickinbottom was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing in May.