'Tax cheat' Bracknell school run taxi boss bought £3.8 million mansionhttps://www.getreading.co.uk/news/readi ... n-25287383David Park failed to declare £777,000 in VAT paid to his firm by Wokingham and Bracknell Forest councils
Image: HMRC/Thames Valley Police/Berkshire LiveA school run taxi boss who used stolen taxes to help buy a £3.8 million mansion has been jailed. David Park, director of Berkshire Education Travel Limited, was providing home-to-school taxi services for Wokingham and Bracknell Forest councils.
He invoiced the councils some £777,000 in VAT for the taxi services provided, with more than £697,000 being paid by Bracknell Forest and £79,000 by Wokingham Borough. However he failed to pay tax to HMRC and kept the money.
Park was arrested on November 24, 2016 and he and his company were both charged with two counts of cheating the public revenue and one of transferring criminal property. He and his company denied the charges but were found guilty on all counts after a trial at Reading Crown Court.
The jury heard that he used a substantial proportion of the monies paid to his company to buy a £3.8 million property in rural Berkshire. Park has now been sentenced to six years in prison, following an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Park, 73, of Jealott’s Hill, Warfield, has been disqualified from being a company director for seven years. HMRC said it is seeking to recover the stolen money.
Matthew Moignard, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “David Park is a tax cheat who chose to line his own pockets rather than pay the tax that he knew was due. The money he stole robbed our vital public services of much-needed funds.
“Anyone who wishes to report suspected fraud to HMRC should search ‘Report Fraud HMRC’ on GOV.UK and complete our online form."
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