Fox hunt ends in prison terms
Missing trader fraudsters jailed for combined total of 21 years
Four men at the centre of a £16m missing trader fraud scam have been jailed for a combined total of 21 years.
After a six-month trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, which ended in March, the four were found guilty of importing computer components from the Republic of Ireland without paying VAT.
Last week, Robert Vaas, alias 'The Fox', was imprisoned for eight years.
Anthony Perkins, from Cartmel Priory, Cumbria, and Richard How, from Shefford, Bedfordshire, both received four year terms. A Leicestershire man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for five years.
Jim Jarvie, assistant chief investigation officer at HM Customs and Excise, said: "Over the past three years we have had a nationally co-ordinated strategy, that is helping to protect legitimate business and the public purse."
Phil Stevens, assistant manager at insolvency practitioner PKF, said: "There is a problem among SMEs, as many are not doing well and could get involved in fraud."