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Conveyancer jailed for Stamp Duty fraud
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
With Stamp Duty a hot topic this week due to the alterations announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement, a warning has been issued to property industry professionals in Britain to ensure they are carrying out correct returns.
The warning comes after a conveyancer was put behind bars for stealing money paid in good faith by his clients.
Mr Anthony Maragh from Harrow in London, purposely and consistently undervalued his clients’ homes, so that less stamp duty tax was paid to HMRC. He then kept the difference and made a pretty sum.
Crime
In total, Mr Maragh conned his clients and HMRC out of £352,500 in stamp duty land tax between 2008 and 2013. Investigators found that he forged paperwork in order to undervalue clients’ properties, meaning the amount of tax owed was reduced. However, he charged them the full amount and kept hold of the difference.
Overall, Mr Maragh under declared the stamp duty tax due on 43 transactions, transferring £297,000 straight from the solicitor’s company accounts into his personal bank account. In addition, he spent another £55,000 from the Client Account on antique Chinese gold bonds.
Martin Brown, assistant director of the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said, ‘ as a conveyancer, Maragh knew only too well that he was breaking the law and what the consequences of his actions would be.’[1]
Conveyancer jailed for Stamp Duty fraud
Abuse
‘He abused the trust of his clients, stealing money that had been paid by them in good faith to meet their tax liabilities, to line his own pockets. Maragh thought that his scheme would go undetected, but he was wrong and is now behind bars with is reputation and career in tatters,’ he added.[1]
As a result of his actions, Maragh was sentenced to three years and four months in prison. Confiscation proceedings to get back the proceeds of crime have already begun.
In court, Her Honour Judge Poulet said, ‘this was repeated offending and an abuse of position and trust with a large number of victims exposed to risk.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/uk-conveyance-tax-fraud-2015112711254.html
