A family sandwich business in Hull has committed a £1m tax fraud, resulting in a jail sentence.
Owners of Amy’s Sandwich Bar and John’s Sandwich Bar were arrested by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and have now been jailed.
HMRC arrested Amy Baker of Amy’s Sandwich shop in January 2012 after it found she had failed to pay tax for her business since 2006.
It then found documents relating to second sandwich business, John’s Sandwich Bar, owned by John Baker and Tracey Walmsley, and investigations into their business revealed they had failed to register for tax since 1995.
Jo Tyler, assistant director, criminal investigation at HMRC, said:
“These three knew full well they were breaking the law, yet chose to overlook it to get what they wrongly assumed would be easy money. They lived a very comfortable lifestyle, driving performance cars and regularly travelling abroad on holiday, all at the expense of the taxpayer.
“There are no excuses for this type of criminal activity, as paying tax is not an option – it is a legal and moral obligation. This family manipulated a system that exists for the benefit of legitimate traders and honest taxpayers and they are now paying the price.”
John Baker was jailed for two years for his role in the fraud at Hull Crown Court yesterday after HHJ Mettyear said he had been at the forefront of a long-standing deliberate fraud in which his family had become involved.
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