Former bosses of Chafford salon found guilty of fraud

THE FATHER and daughter bosses of a former Chafford Hundred hair salon have been found guilty of tax fraud to the tune of £147,000, partly using an innocent businessman’s details to reclaim VAT.

They also pocketed Pay As You Earn (PAYE) contributions from their employees.

John Littleboy absconded before sentencing but was arrested on Monday 17 December 2012, by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). He was sentenced to two years in prison in his absence on 11 December 2012.

Peter Millroy, Assistant Director of HMRC Criminal Investigation, said:

“John Littleboy tried to avoid his punishment by absconding, but he has been caught. He organised a catalogue of criminal activity along with his daughter, Katy Littleboy. Not only did they steal from their employees but also used the identity of an innocent businessman to commit a sophisticated tax fraud purely for their own greed.

“Stealing over £147,000 in tax destined to pay for public services is not acceptable. If you know of anyone committing tax fraud please tell us by calling our Hotline, 0800 59 5000.”

Littleboy and his daughter ran two hairdressing salons, both called Headcandi, from premises in Gidea Park and Chafford Hundred in Grays, Essex.

Littleboy was the main organiser of the fraud and, together with Katy, stole the identity of a legitimate businessman. Using his details, they submitted bogus claims for refunds of VAT for their hairdressing business. Their criminal activity included keeping tax and National Insurance deducted from the wages of their staff instead of paying it to HMRC.

His Honour Judge Owen-Jones said: “This was a skilful, scheming, well-planned and determined operation to claim large repayments of VAT by creating invoices to defraud HMRC. This impacts on every member of the general public.”