A taxman has been jailed after using the hijacked identity of a dead man to cover up a £171,000 VAT fraud.

James McGee was found with two bank cards in the name of the deceased person when he was arrested.

One of the accounts had been opened after the man had died and the other had been credited with some of the fraudulently obtained money.

The 66-year-old, of Troon in South Ayrshire, was jailed for over two years at Ayr sheriff court yesterday after being found guilty of VAT fraud and money laundering offences.

HMRC fraud investigator Lynsey Thompson said: ‘McGee used his knowledge of the VAT system to co-ordinate a scheme to steal from the public purse – money that is essential to fund the services we need, such as hospitals and schools.

‘This was a shameful way for a former employee of 34 years to act, but this conviction shows nobody is above the law.’

A joint HMRC and National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation uncovered McGee’s role in the fraud.

Having left his VAT compliance role with HMRC in 2009, McGee was arrested four years later.

Officers searching his home seized handwritten records, which contained detailed information on several VAT registered businesses.

Experts confirmed the handwriting matched McGee’s entries in his old HMRC diaries and notebooks.

McGee was initially arrested as part of an NCA investigation into identity fraud. During a search of his property officers found documents suggesting he was involved in VAT fraud, triggering the HMRC enquiry.

McGee insisted he was not responsible for any criminality, but he did admit using the hijacked identity when calling HMRC’s VAT helpline.

In total, £101,443.14 was paid out due to false VAT repayment claims, while a further £70,351 was withheld by HMRC.

Three others implicated in the scam – Mark Dryden, 37, and Gary Prentice, 36, of Glasgow, and Carly McGinley, 33, of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, were sentenced in February.

Procurator fiscal Laura Buchan said McGee and his associates ‘used their knowledge of the system to steal significant sums and then tried to cover their tracks by laundering the money’.

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