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Clare man who fraudulently claimed €683,000 in VAT returns has sentence reduced

Summary

Derek Floyd, 36, of Tulla, Co Clare, was found guilty of 15 counts of filing incorrect VAT returns and 12 counts of claiming VAT remits to which he was not entitled between 2001 and 2003, and of handling stolen goods. He was originally sentenced to six years imprisonment with the final year suspended, and separately to three years imprisonment for handling stolen goods, with eight months suspended. On appeal, the Court of Appeal reduced his overall sentence to five years imprisonment with one year suspended, and a consecutive term of three years with eight months suspended. The Court found errors in the original sentencing, noting that the judge had misapplied the appropriate sentence and had incorrectly considered the suspended portion. The appeal was upheld by Mr Justice George Birmingham, who substituted the original sentences with the reduced terms. The case involved fraudulently claiming €683,000 in VAT returns and handling €45,000 worth of stolen silage wrap.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Clare man who fraudulently claimed €683,000 in VAT returns has sentence reduced. Charges or matters: and the sentencing judge was wrongly lead by the prosecution to have regard for these figures. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Found guilty

When:

• May 21, 2012 Incident
• October 3 2013 Incident
• July 2001 Hearing Or Sentence
• June 2004 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2001 and 2003 Other
• 2001 to 2003 Other
• 2014-12-16 Publication

Why: Initially, the company which provided the silage wrap wasn't worried when contacted because it believed its silage had been dispatched to established clients in Limerick. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal Theft

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Read the original CNI report