An Oldham man has had more than a quarter of a million pounds confiscated after being earlier sentenced for failing to pay almost £75,000 in tax. Peter Bell (born 20/2/1947) of Dalefields, Delph pleaded guilty to failing to notify the authorities of a change in circumstances, being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of income tax, money laundering and fraud. On Friday 20 December 2013, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. On 4 July 2012 police executed a warrant at Bell⿿s home and found stockpiles of cash hidden under a bedroom drawer. The money totalled £311,940. Bell had worked as a builder from the age of 16 and was regularly paid cash in hand. Officers worked with the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and it was calculated that Bell should have paid £74,184.20 plus interest of £18,000 in income tax over a ten year period - 2002 to 2012. In 1999, he declared himself paraplegic after an accident which led him to claim incapacity benefit. Bell was back working by 2001 and failed to inform the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of the change in his circumstances. It was calculated that in total he was paid more than £42,000 in benefits. On his 65th birthday Bell put himself forward for pension credit, claiming that he did not have savings of investments worth more than £10,000. Yesterday, Monday 28 April 2014, a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing was held Minshull Street Crown Court An order was made for him to confiscate £142,170.06 plus he was ordered to pay back to HMRC £91,759.29 in unpaid tax. A confiscation order was made to pay back the DWP a total of £41,528.95. In total £275,458.30 was confiscated. If he fails to pay it back he will be ordered to serve an additional jail term. Detective Constable Michelle Lomax, of the Oldham POCA unit based within the Organised Crime Team at Oldham. said: Bell showed a pattern of greed and deception over the best part of a decade. “He has now been ordered to pay back the vast majority of the money he cheated from the taxpayer. Results of this nature are not possible without the help of partner agencies including HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions and Oldham Housing.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 09:04:33 +0000
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