Man given suspended sentence for £74k tax fraud
A Lurgan man who lied about his earnings and pocketed more than £74,000 in VAT has been given a suspended jail sentence.
Edward McLoughlin, 69, the sole proprietor of Victoria Engineering and Electrical Goods Services, charged £74,863 in VAT to customers but did not declare it to HM Revenue & Customs, keeping the money for himself.
During a routine VAT inspection in June 2016 he admitted deliberately understating earnings and sales on the company’s VAT returns between October 2014 and May 2016.
At Craigavon Crown Court on Wednesday, McLoughlin, from Victoria Street in the town, was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years.