An IT consultant who deliberately and systematically failed to declare almost £2 million of income has been handed a 5 year jail sentence for tax fraud by the Kirkcudbright Sherrif Court.
Stephen Maxwell, 53 from Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway, claimed that he had lost income after being involved in the Cumbria train disaster in 2007 which killed one passenger. He was even hailed a hero for rescuing fellow passengers but a HMRC investigation discovered that he had paid no tax for 9 years before the rail crash.
During the period 1999 – 2008, Mr Maxwell worked as an IT consultant for City of London banks. Fees were paid to companies that were registered in Gibraltar and the Isle of Man and of which Maxwell was a hidden beneficiary. From 2005 the income was paid to a UK registered company which never filed any tax returns.
The loss of tax to the Exchequer during the period 1999 – 2008 was £635,015.
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