Jailed: Wembley brothers who carried out £400k Gift Aid scam
Jailed brothers: Ghadiri, left, and Raza - Credit: Archant
A Wembley accountant has been jailed today for a £400,000 fraud where the identities of dead people were used to claim back Gift Aid payments from two fake charities.
Salih Ozbay - Credit: Archant
Abu Talib Ghadiri, 34, was sentenced to six years for carrying out the scam with his brother Mohsin Raza, 33, who was jailed for four years.
The brothers, who both live in Preston Waye, launched the swindle after establishing Fatimiyya Trust and The Light Charity which falsely claimed to help victims of natural disasters in Pakistan.
Under the Gift Aid scheme a charity can claim an additional 25 per cent of donations made by taxpayers’.
Harrow Crown Court heard the pair claimed they received charity donations from deceased taxpayers or ineligible taxpayers to claim the repayments.
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Ghadiri made false Gift Aid repayments claims for the Fatimiyya Trust of almost £82,250 and received £58,524.
His brother pocketed £199,788 via the other fake charity.
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In addition, Ghadiri made false VAT repayment claims of £47,000, which were linked to seven bogus companies he had set up under the name and details of his innocent estranged ex-girlfriend to avoid detection.
Salih Ozbay, 38, an associate of Ghadiri and company secretary of Smart Price Builders Ltd, had submitted a false VAT repayment claim to HMRC for £69,442 as part of the fraud.
He was sentenced to 18 months.
Martin Brown, fraud investigator at HMRC, said: “As an accountant, Ghadiri would have known the seriousness of committing Gift Aid and VAT fraud, but he carried on regardless and submitted false paperwork to substantiate his claims. These individuals stole money that should have been spent on vital public services, not used to line their own pockets, but they are now paying the price.”
