Fraudsters jailed after being found guilty of trying to steal more than £800,000
The Court of Appeal ruled in January that the trial could continue after the jury was discharged following reports of tampering.
A gang of fraudsters who attempted to steal more than £800,000 have been sentenced after being found guilty at a trial conducted without a jury.
Shahid Mohammad, Zahid Mohammed, Mohammed Maroof, Adnan Sharif, Mohsan Hussain and Usman Sharif were convicted by a judge in March this year for cheating HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) out of the money by using more than 90 bogus companies as fronts.
Jurors in their trial were discharged in November following reports of jury tampering, with the Court of Appeal ruling in January that the judge could continue the trial alone as delaying proceedings would cause a “huge inconvenience”.
All six men were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday, with five receiving suspended sentences and Shahid Mohammad being jailed for six years.
HMRC said that the gang used 91 fake companies to submit tax claims and VAT repayments worth around £470,000 between January 2015 and November 2016.
The fraudsters set up a fake recruitment firm to steal identities and list people as directors of bogus car dealerships without their knowledge, using the addresses of vacant premises across the Midlands for their fake dealerships.
