A ‘Walter Mitty’ accountant who conned the inland revenue into handing him £22,000 has failed to pay his court compensation order.
Former taxman Derek Foster exploited his knowledge of lax system checks to con HMRC into paying him £22,000 to cover his gambling debts.
Foster duped the inland revenue into paying him regular rebates which he was immediately blowing on online betting site Bet365.
Foster was unemployed and had less than £10 in his bank account but he convinced HMRC he was earning more than £200,000 a year working for corporate giants Shell, the Wood Group and Hat-trick Bruce.
He was ordered to pay back £11,700 in compensation but Perth Sheriff Court was told Foster had left HMRC short-changed again.
The court was told Foster’s payback bill has now risen to £18,815 because of the interest accrued since the order was imposed more than two years ago.
Sheriff warning – ‘You better comply’
Solicitor Pauline Cullerton, defending, said: “He has completed the unpaid work and supervision requirement.
“It is not the normal type of breach.
“The matter that has brought it back before the court is the compensation requirement which has not been paid.
“He accepts he has not paid what he should have.
“The remaining balance is £18,815. He is in receipt of benefits.
“He is in a position to make payments. He is offering £450 per month.”
Sheriff Euan Duthie said: “I am giving you an opportunity to show you are making an earnest attempt to make payments. You better comply with it.”
He put off the case for a further review in April and warned Foster he could be jailed if he has not paid compensation.
Three years of false statements
Perth Sheriff Court was previously told Foster carried out his con for 20 months and was given rebates of up to £9,000 at a time without any checks being carried out by tax inspectors.
Foster, who also previously worked for BA at Gatwick Airport and for Perth and Kinross Council, was only caught when he ramped up the money he was claiming and sparked an investigation.
The 48-year-old of Rae Place, Perth, admitted forming a fraudulent scheme to obtain £22,000 of income tax repayments between January 2013 and September 2014.
He admitted setting up online self-assessments in which he claimed to be working as a book-keeper for himself and for a number of companies.
He filed false statements for the 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-14 tax years.
Foster had initially been charged with almost £50,000 pounds worth of frauds and attempted frauds but the Crown accepted his guilty plea to the reduced figure of £22,000.
Fiscal depute Matthew Kerr told the court Foster’s initial claim was for around £300, but by the time he was finally probed nearly two years later he had made a claim for £9,825.60.
Foster’s bank account showed that £50 a week in benefits was going in, and he was making a false claim for a tax rebate whenever the balance fell below £10.
“When money was paid in he would withdraw cash immediately and spend the rest online gambling.
“All the money was withdrawn within days.
“The final repayment was on 2 July, 2014 and then the £9,825.60 was withdrawn within eight days – with almost all of it being spent at Bet365.”
Dementia claim
When he was quizzed, Foster admitted setting up an account but said he had no memory of money being deposited in his account.
The court was told he tried to claim he had dementia.
Counsel for the accused, Iain Smith, said: “His offence was linked to his gambling, which he has done from a very young age.
“He genuinely believed he had dementia.
“Clearly he has a BA in Accountancy and I dare say that will have equipped him with certain knowledge as to how this offence could be committed.”
‘Walter Mitty’ comment
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis noted Foster had previous fraud, embezzlement and shoplifting convictions.
He said: “There is an element of Walter Mitty about him.”
He ordered Foster to carry out 300 hours unpaid work in the community and placed him under social work supervision for two years.
Foster said he could repay £650 per month and he was ordered to do that for the maximum compensation period of 18 months.
He was ordered to pay back £11,700 in total.
