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A Blackpool nightclub owner and his accountant have been found guilty of their involvement in a \u00a34.9m tax fraud.<\/p>\n
Paul Kelly, who owned a string of bars and pubs across the North West, evaded paying millions in tax, with help from his “crooked accountant” John Parry, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said.<\/p>\n
Kelly, 63, from Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire, and Parry, 70, from Wilmslow, were convicted of cheating the public revenue and perverting the course of justice following a trial at Preston Crown Court.<\/p>\n
The court heard Kelly splashed hundreds of thousands of pounds from the proceeds of his crimes on luxury items, including a yacht, Bentley and Rolls Royce cars, and a \u00a3100,000 watch, HMRC said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
HMRC officers arrested Kelly at Gatwick Airport on his return from a trip to Barbados in November 2018, and Parry was interviewed on the same day.<\/p>\n
A search of Kelly’s home uncovered bundles of cash and at one of his business premises investigators found digital files proving Kelly had not been declaring profits.<\/p>\n
He had also submitted fraudulent VAT returns and deducted tax and National Insurance payments from employees’ salaries, but failed to give the money to the tax office.<\/p>\n
Zoe Gascoyne, deputy director in HMRC’s fraud investigation service, said: “Paul Kelly abused his position of trust to steal from clients and staff members, and John Parry assisted him in further stealing from the taxpayer.<\/p>\n
“Tax fraud is never a victimless crime and the eye-watering sums he spent on cars and jewellery should have been funding the public services we all rely on.”<\/p>\n
The men are due to be sentenced at the same court on 25 July.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n