A crooked Perth businessman who admitted a £200k tax evasion scam has been given the chance to lessen his jail time.
Construction boss Thomas Mullen was caught cashing customers’ cheques and dodging hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of tax payments over a near five-year period.
The fraud, fuelled by Mullen’s rampant gambling and substance misuse addiction, was exposed following an HMRC probe into alleged money laundering.
Returning to court for sentencing on Friday, the 33-year-old director of Tay Roofing and Building Ltd pledged that he had enough money saved up to repay the full amount.
Addictions
Solicitor David Patterson, defending, told the court: “To his credit, he has been a hard worker and he has run his business well.
“At this time, he was battling substance misuse and gambling addictions.
“He tells me this money was used entirely on drugs and on gambling.
“He was chasing his gambling debts and it turned into a vicious cycle.”
Mr Patterson said: “He was living day-to-day and not thinking about the future.
“And then, of course, the future arrived and he was unable to account for his past.”
This was a “dark period” of Mullen’s life, his solicitor said.
“His partner became extremely fed up with the impact this was having on the family unit,” he told the court.
“Mr Mullen was given an ultimatum – to get his act together or else.”
Mr Patterson said his client had since “changed his ways”.
The court heard Mullen had enough saved up to repay the defrauded amount – £204,678 – to HMRC.
“Payment can be made within a matter of weeks,” the solicitor said.
Sheriff William Wood deferred sentence until later this month, to allow Mullen to begin making payments.
He warned: “I am not saying for one minute that if you repay this money, you will avoid going to jail.
“I don’t want this to look like it’s a trade-off.
“But your sentence may be reduced.”
Money laundering probe
Mullen admitted being knowingly involved in the fraudulent evasion of income tax.
The father-of-five failed to declare income of £409,897 to the taxman between April 6, 2012 and January 1, 2017, evading tax payments of £204,678.
Mullen had made more than £1 million, but had not paid a penny of tax over the five-year period.
The court heard the crime was uncovered following an HMRC probe into a firm called Spectrum Financial Services, amid allegations of money laundering.
The company’s Rutherglen office was raided and a mass of paperwork was seized by HMRC officers.
Documents showed that a large number of cheques had been paid in by Mullen. Some had also been paid in by an associate of Mullen, on behalf of Tay Roofing and Building.
Mullen, of Leslie Court, Fairfield Avenue, generated income of £1,047,795 throughout the five-year period, before applying for bankruptcy.
He will return to court for sentencing on January 23.
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