Farmer and daughter from Staffordshire jailed for £1.9 MILLION tax fraud
A father and daughter have been jailed for a total of nine-and-a-half years for claiming £1.9 million in fraudulent tax returns.
Jack Frederick Parfitt, aged 80, ran his family's daily farm for 40 years and Sally Ann Parfitt, aged 51, joined in April 2001.
The pair submitted fraudulent VAT repayment claims to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) from 2007 to 2013.
They used the extra cash to in an attempt to boost their failing business and splashed out on living expenses and mortgage repayments.
Jack Parfitt, of Horsley, Eccleshall, in Staffordshire, was found guilty of the fraudulent evasion of VAT at Bristol Crown Court and sentenced to five years in jail.
His daughter, of the same address, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for the same charge over the farm in Masbury, Somerset.
Assistant director of HMRC's fraud investigation service Colin Spinks said: "Rather than accept that their farming business was failing, the Parfitts decided to steal from the taxpayer to keep it afloat, denying vital public services of almost £2 million. They are now paying the price."
