Fraudster family's £45m scam was so huge it 'made UK austerity worse'

A thieving family have been jailed after they stole over £45 million from taxpayers to spend on luxury cars, mansions, designer watches, race horses and trips to Las Vegas.

Geoffrey Copp, 56, his brother Andrew, 51, and his son Joshua, 24, “lived like kings” on stolen cash to the extent that it had a significant burden on the country’s finances.

The trio were jailed for a total of 27-and-half-years after Judge Noel Lucas QC said the family enjoyed “high living on a grand scale” by taking money from the public purse.

He said: “Each Copp frittered away huge sums of money on luxury items and high living.

“Although all spent as much as they could on luxury items they had an aversion to paying any tax. They regarded the money as a bonanza and frittered it away as quickly as they could.

“At a time when Britain was made to tighten its belt while financial austerity was imposed, the Copps frittered away the better part of £44 million.

“This tax money could have gone along way to easing true financial burden on the country.”

Their lifestyle was brought to the attention of the authorities when Joshua Copp shared images with an inmate at Chelmsford prison showing off his wealth.

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As Geoffrey Copp was sentenced to ten-and-a-half years, Andrew to nine years and Joshua to eight, members of their family, who had packed or the public gallery, began crying.

Judge Lucas added: “These are serious offences because of the huge amount of public money which has been taken.

“This was an operation that was the brain child of all three Copps, there was nothing that one knew that the others didn’t.

“An integral part of the business was the taxation structure and Geoff Copp sought advice from leading QCs and two firms of solicitors about that structure.

“And that structure required charging VAT on pay role he knew to be highly unusual.

“That two accountants didn’t know about that to my mind suggests that the plan to defraud was from the outset. To my mind he is someone who should not run a company again.

“No honest businessman would have failed to mention the highly unusual taxing structure of the business.”

Geoffrey was banned from running a company for 15 years, Andrew for ten years and Joshua for eight.

A confiscation hearing will be held on January 26 next year when fines and compensation may also be ordered by the court.