Facing jail, the ‘U-boat captain’ in £1m fraud
A SELF-STYLED U-boat captain who blew the proceeds of a £1million VAT fraud on luxury hotels, jets and fast cars while living on benefits is facing jail.
Captain Birdseye lookalike Richard Williams, who lived on a narrowboat converted to resemble a German submarine, lied that he was selling specially-adapted beds to people with disabilities then claimed back the tax he had supposedly paid, a court heard.
In an audacious five-year scam, he stole a friend’s identity in a bid to cover his tracks, prosecutors said, and set up a shop as a front for his business, complete with a ‘token’ bed in the window.
Locals became suspicious after noticing the premises were hardly ever open and he never appeared to make any sales.
The 55-year-old, whose real name is Steven Howarth, blew the entire proceeds of the scam, boasting that he drove a McLaren supercar with the number plate VAT100 and chartered a jet to fly to Paris to buy bespoke wallpaper. All the while, he was apparently living on £ 174 fortnightly unemployment and disability support. Alongside Williams in the dock yesterday was his former teenage bride, Lauren Howarth, who repeatedly changed her name by deed poll in what prosecutors say was an effort to aid the fraud.
Williams became a notorious figure on the canal system around Yorkshire and Lancashire after spending £50,000 converting his narrowboat into a replica German U-boat, complete with torpedo tubes and periscope, and frequently posing in a captain’s uniform.
But in reality the former mobility scooter salesman was a convicted fraudster who claimed to be too unwell to work while masterminding a sophisticated and long-lasting fraud against the taxman, Manchester Crown Court was told.
He set up a string of firms which purported to buy specially-adapted beds on which VAT was payable before selling them to disabled customers. Williams produced fake invoices which he then submitted to HM Revenue and Customs in order to reclaim the VAT.
Speaking ahead of the hearing, Williams said: ‘In five years we never sold one bed. We made a fortune but got caught, and I will take the punishment. We went all over the world like a couple who had won the National Lottery. We had a great time – now I’ll do the time.’
Williams pleaded guilty to three counts of cheating the public revenue and one of having articles for use in a fraud, while Howarth, 28, pleaded guilty to three counts of recklessly making VAT returns.
The pair, both from Blackpool, will be sentenced today.