A 40-year-old Lochee man has admitted VAT fraud of almost £170,000.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard Brinner Frank Patino Sabando convinced Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to pay money to a company called Fresca Ltd. The payments went on for nearly two years, the court was told.
Sabando, of Lansdowne Gardens, admitted that at various locations between February 6 2008 and December 1 2009 he was knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of VAT amounting to £166,757.46.
The fraud took place at Bellfield Street, Dundee; Corporate House, Fresca Ltd, Bath Street, Glasgow; and Fairies Road, Perth; and elsewhere in the UK.
He admitted submitting or causing to be submitted in the name of Fresca Ltd, false claims for the repayment of VAT to HMRC and thereby induced HMRC to make repayments to Fresca Ltd, to which it was not entitled.
His co-accused, Callum Reid, 27, of Strathmore Avenue, Forfar, had his not guilty pleas to the charges accepted.
Sabando also had not guilty pleas accepted to an allegation he submitted false claims to the value of £141,504 in the name of Fresca Ltd and 12BE Consultancy Ltd, and of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Jack Brown, defending, said: “I would ask that the accused is released on bail ahead of sentencing for reports to be prepared.
“He is subject to fairly stringent bail conditions. His passport has been surrendered and he is signing on at the police station twice a week.”
David Odd, HMRC’s assistant director of criminal investigation in Scotland, said Sabando was looking for a way to make “easy money”.
He said: “Sabando knew he was breaking the law yet he chose to overlook it for the opportunity of making what he wrongly assumed was easy money at the expense of the UK taxpayer.”
Sheriff Elizabeth Munro deferred sentence until April 12.