A tax fraudster known as John Dalton used many identities to spend nearly a decade on the run has been jailed.
John Dalton committed a £3.8m VAT fraud before fleeing the country in 2007. The 54-year-old re-emerged in Spain where he was detained and sent back to the UK in 2017.
Inner London Crown Court was told Dalton (whose birth name is Paul Kemp) had used at least 12 different names throughout his life. Dalton and another man were the main offenders in a conspiracy to falsely claim VAT repayments from the HM Revenue and Customs.
He did this by setting up several sham companies and using forged documents to show that because their business transactions were carried out overseas, they did not receive any VAT payments for their customers. Most of these businesses never traded and the offices where they were supposed to be based were rarely occupied and were changed regularly. Dalton was first arrested in 2007 but failed to answer bail as he fled to France before his prison term could start. In November 2017, Dalton was detained in Spain under a European Arrest warrant, he was then brought to the UK in January 2018 after officers from Kent police travelled to Madrid.
He was sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment at Inner London Crown Court on Wednesday 21st November 2018 after pleading guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of VAT.
Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Steve Payne of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said:
‘John Dalton is a career criminal who has cheated his way through life by creating numerous false identities and businesses in order to make money that he was not entitled to.
‘I hope this case demonstrates that crime does not pay and that we do not forget about people who try to escape justice, no matter how many years have passed.
‘We will now use legislation under the Proceeds of Crime Act to target Dalton’s assets and ensure he is not allowed to enjoy any further luxuries following his eventual release from prison.’
KENT POLICE
