Dodgy accountant faces prison for cheating Devon company
A dodgy accountant has been told the court needs to know more about his personal finances before sentencing him for defrauding a Dartmouth company out of £21,000. Judge Stephen Climie told Darren Moysey: "I don't believe a word that comes from your lips."
Moysey admits committing fraud against the owners of Exclusive Holiday Homes Management while working as their accountant. The owners thought they were paying their required tax payments to HMRC - only to discover that Moysey was failing to pass money on and pocketing it for himself, a court heard.
The defendant, a 53-year-old of Barton Avenue in Paignton, appeared for sentence at Exeter Crown Court. The judge heard the facts of the case and was told Moysey was awaiting the imminent sale of a property which would help repay the victims.
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Judge Climie adjourned the case for more information. He said he needed evidence of his available finances because Moysey has previous convictions for similar offences.
He added: "Because of your history I won't believe a word that comes from your lips without independent confirmation. I don't trust what the defendant says."
Mary McCarthy, prosecuting, said Moysey worked as the accountant for victims Karen and Stephen Westwood. He knew Mr Westwood from school and started doing bookkeeping for him in 2007.
They would pay what was legally owed by the company in VAT, National Insurance and PAYE and understood that Moysey, as the accountant, was passing those sums on to HMRC.
The offence came to light when Mrs Westwood was told she owed nearly £4,000 in VAT. She made the payment but - for the second time - Moysey did not pass the money on to the taxman. It became apparent that more than £10,000 was owed in unpaid tax.
"She found herself having to pay money, despite already having paid it to the defendant," said Miss McCarthy. A police investigation found the fraud started in 2013 and none of the money given to the defendant had been paid to HMRC.
In total, the defendant pocketed 36 payments totalling £21,471 made between 2013 and 2019 for himself. "The money he received was simply spent by him," said the prosecutor. "It was day-to-day living spending somebody else's money. The victims "effectively paid tax twice," she added.
The defendant has three previous convictions for fraud, the court was told. He was never a certified or chartered accountant.
Felicity Payne, defending, said there was some dispute about the total sum of the fraud and Moysey was due some imminent inheritance. Judge Climie said the sentence was finely balanced between prison and suspended sentence. The case was adjourned until October 2.
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