Takeaway pizza boss tried to blame accountant for 103,000 tax evasion

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Takeout pizza boss submitted false tax returns to avoid paying 103,000.

Bahram Mansouriboroujeni deliberately failed to disclose the actual turnover of his business to the tax and customs authorities and withheld the amount of VAT, income tax and national insurance that he was legally required to pay. to pay.

The 60-year-old, from Kensington, ran the Deep Pan Express and then the Deep Pan Express Limited between February 2016 and January 2020.

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The business was based on Scargreen Avenue in Norris Green, but invoices HMRC obtained from online food delivery companies Just Eat and Hungry House proved it had higher revenue than it claimed. .

Mansouriboroujeni avoided paying 107,333.98 taxes, 10,162.20 national insurance and 5,403.13.

He was interviewed in December 2019 at St Anne Street Police Station in Liverpool.

During his interview, he said he was new to the take-out business when he took over the business and did not understand his business or tax responsibilities.

Last week at Liverpool Crown Court he pleaded guilty to dishonestly failing to disclose to HMRC the true extent of his company’s turnover.

He was imprisoned for two and a half years.

In court, prosecution Charlotte Kenny said the original figure owed was 122,899.31, but 19,148 VAT had been paid in installments from September 2018, bringing the total to 103,751. , 31.

She said Mansouriboroujeni owned Deep Pan Express on Scargreen Avenue in Norris Green between February 2016 and January 2020.

Ms Kenny said it was originally owed to the company as a sole proprietorship, but the company was incorporated in January 2018.

Mansouriboroujeni did not register for VAT or pay income tax or national insurance contributions for a period of three and a half years, the court said.

In an interview on October 10, 2019, he “blamed his accountant” for the error, prompting investigators to speak to the accountant.

He told them that Mansouriboroujeni did not speak English as his mother tongue, but said he explained to him the income and the obligations imposed on the company.

Simon Gurney, defending, said Mansouriboroujeni previously had a good, positive character and “did not lead a lavish lifestyle”.

Mr Gurney said Mansouriboroujeni neither charged customers with VAT nor made a profit by not reporting it to HMRC, but as a result offered lower prices and “gained some advantage over its competitors “.

He said: “He is a man who during this time lived sparingly, in truth he found it difficult to keep his head and that of his family above water.”

Mr Gurney said Mansouriboroujeni left Iran for the UK in 2005 with his children, to join his wife who worked as a nurse.

He said Mansouriboroujeni first worked as a caregiver and food delivery driver before becoming a taxi driver and later buying take-out.

Mr Gurney said he “worked hard” and wanted to support his family.

He added that Mansouriboroujeni had now sold the business for a substantial loss and was repaying two more loans, but said he was “anxious” to repay the money owed.

Mansouriboroujeni, of Phythian Close, Kensington, admitted one count of failing to report money to HMRC between February 28, 2016 and October 14, 2019.

He voluntarily went to a police station for an interview, so no photo of him was taken, as is the usual way when someone is arrested.

The judge, recorder Andrew McLoughlin, said Mansouriboroujeni had been a “hard worker and loving family man” as well as “well respected in the community”.

The judge said: “To commit the crime of fraud like you did is a very great disgrace.

“It doesn’t just impact you, but your position in the community and perhaps within your own family.”

The judge said: “You did not register for VAT when you should and it created a competitive advantage or a bigger profit.

“You have also failed to pay income tax on the profits you have personally made as well as on national insurance contributions.

The judge noted Mansouriboroujeni’s remorse and reduced the sentence to reflect his guilty plea.

However, the judge said he was unable to suspend the sentence by adding “you deprived of more than 100,000 income and sought to blame a professional accountant for the position you have been in.”

Senior Crown Prosecutor George Ward, CPS Mersey-Cheshires Fraud Unit, said: “Mansouriboroujeni claimed he did not understand what he was supposed to report on his tax returns.

“But his accountant said he explained that all of his sales had to be disclosed.

“This was a substantial fraud, affecting over 100,000 people and carried out over a long period of time.

“Due to his dishonesty, this businessman is now behind bars.

“There are a lot of demands on public money and those who cheat the Exchequer are cheating on us all.

“Let this serve as a lesson for anyone who thinks they can provide false returns to HMRC and get away with it.”

An HMRC spokesperson said: No crime is victimless. Tax crime robs our vital public services of much-needed funds.

The majority of individuals and businesses pay the tax that is due, but there remains a determined minority who refuse to obey the rules.

“We encourage anyone with information about tax evasion to report it online or to call the Anti-Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.

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