Golf club owner’s tax fraud lands him in the rough

Jon Wiggett was jailed for submitting 13 false VAT repayment claims between 2014 and 2017.

Golf club owner’s tax fraud lands him in the rough SNS Group

The owner of a Highland golf club has been jailed over a £154,000 tax fraud.

Jon Wiggett submitted 13 false VAT repayment claims between 2014 and 2017, and tried to back up his fraudulent scheme with dozens of fake invoices for Brahan Golf Club.

The 51-year-old, of Conon Bridge, near Dingwall, created false purchase receipts for a lawn mower, hundreds of bottles of herbicide and sand mixture for his club.

He was snared following an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

On Tuesday at Inverness Sheriff Court, the PGA professional was sentenced to 15 months in jail after earlier pleading guilty.

Cheryl Burr, assistant director of the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said: “Wiggett stole the equivalent of five police constables’ salaries in Scotland. This was money that should have been funding vital public services.”

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