Dodgy accountant is ordered to pay �1.4m

AN unqualified accountant who used his client's cash to line his own pockets has been ordered by a judge to pay back �1.4m.

John Warman, previously of West Bridgford, is serving an eight-year jail sentence for conspiring with property tycoon Simon Fields, 35, to steal �2.5m from the public purse.

The 72-year-old drove around in a �165,000 Bentley Arnage and pretended he had substantial capital in the bank.

A judge has now ruled that Warman pocketed �1.4m from fiddling tax returns and has given him 12 months to pay up. His jail term could be extended if he does not come up with the cash.

A jury heard that he connived with Fields, who was his client, to manipulate tax returns to evade paying tax.

Fields, of Trowell Road, Wollaton, provided information to Warman so that he could prepare the false accounts to be submitted to HM Revenue and Customs.

Fields was found guilty of one charge of conspiracy to cheat the Inland Revenue and was given a two-year jail sentence, suspended for two years, for his role in a scam.

Warman was found guilty of the same charge and 28 others – 14 of cheating the taxman and 14 of obtaining money by deception.

Warman and Fields conspired to understate the profits from Fields' property empire, stealing �1.5m due in tax.

Fields' father, Roger Fields, 66, of Burnwood Drive, Wollaton, was found not guilty of any involvement in the crimes.

Paperwork produced at the trial showed Warman and Fields worked together to understate the amount received for renting out properties and overstated the interest paid on loans and the amount paid for repairs and renewals.

Both men lied about the level of profit that had been made over an eight-year period, from April 1996 to April 2004.

In a twist to the fraud, Warman then fiddled the accounts a second time and stole more than �1m from Roger Fields' business accounts.

He also stole �80,000 from three other Nottingham businesses – a farmer, a firm of solicitors and a transport company.

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32715/f/503354/s/1326e138/l/0L0Sthisisnottingham0O0Cnews0CDodgy0Eaccountant0Eordered0Epay0E1630E10E4m0Carticle0E3295670A0Edetail0Carticle0Bhtml/story01.htm

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