Father and son in £190,000 tax fraud

Alan Beattie, 52, from Larne, and his son Andrew, 31, from Ballyclare, submitted false invoices to fraudulently reclaim £190,507 in VAT repayments.

The pair claimed they had bought tyres for their businesses from suppliers in the Republic of Ireland, but checks by HMRC officers found these businesses had not traded with the Beatties.

Steve Tracey, assistant director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC said: “When we pay tax, we expect it to go towards paying for vital public services, not to line the pockets of unscrupulous traders.

“The Beatties knew they were breaking the law but thought they could get away with ripping off honest taxpayers.”

Alan Beattie was a director of AAM Distributors, a tyre company, based in Ballyclare, while his son Andrew, was a director of Morgan Tyres, also based in Ballyclare. Both men admitted VAT fraud last month.

Alan Beattie was sentenced to 28 months in prison, suspended for three years. He was also disqualified as a director for five years.

Andrew Beattie was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for three years, and disqualified as a director for two years.

A compensation order for £62,745 was also paid to HMRC as restitution for the money from the false VAT repayments.