Former owner of Casa Brighouse Jack McDaid admits VAT fraud
The ex-owner of a restaurant, bar and wedding venue has pleaded guilty to evading VAT and deliberately defrauding HM Revenue and Customs.Jack McDaid, 67, who previously ran Casa Brighouse in West Yorkshire under the company Casa Events, was due to stand trial at Leeds Crown Court along with business partner Samuel Revy-Holmes, 35, and accountant Robert Brook, 47, but changed his plea on Tuesday before the start of a trial.His Honour Judge Simon Phillips KC told McDaid he would be sentenced at the end of the trial, which was expected to last about two weeks.Mr Revy-Holmes and Mr Brook have both denied conspiracy to evade VAT and cheating the public revenue and their trial began on Tuesday.
McDaid, Mr Revy-Holmes and Mr Brook have all been granted conditional bail.
'Conspired together'
At the start of the trial, jurors at Leeds Crown Court heard the business's turnover had been almost £10m during the period when the alleged offences took place between October 2011 and June 2018.However, from November 2013 until May 2018, a total of 19 VAT returns were submitted which all showed no sales had taken place and no goods had been purchased, meaning no VAT was due.At that time, McDaid, of Sandal Magna, Halifax, owned Casa Events, while Mr Revy-Holmes, of Upper Marsh, Halifax, was registered as a company director.Mr Brook, of Orchid Grove, Netherton, was director of Yorkshire Accountancy Services and worked as the accountant for Casa Events, Mr Russell told jurors.Prosecutor Brian Russell told the court all three men were "jointly responsible for ensuring the company's tax liabilities and obligations were met".However, they "knowingly and deliberately conspired together to commit the criminal act of evading VAT", Mr Russell said.The court heard that the alleged offences came to light when HM Revenue and Customs began investigating another of McDaid's companies, Castelite Developments, in September 2017.That investigation got under way after no VAT returns were made for the business, despite it being registered for a period of about three years, jurors were told.The trial continues.
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Boy who met Prince and Princess of Wales and caught William's attention after asking a sweet question about Prince George killed himself after getting into trouble with police, inquest hears
A teenager who met the Prince and Princess of Wales after winning a design competition at the age of 10 has taken his own life after getting into trouble with the police, an inquest has heard. Zak Kay met the royal couple in July 2016, when they were in Portsmouth, Hampshire, to cheer on Sir Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team. Then a pupil at St Paul's Catholic Primary School in Portsmouth, he had won the contest to design a trophy for the Portsmouth leg of the America's Cup World Series (ACWS). His winning design featured the sails of an AC45 catamaran with the star and crescent emblem of Portsmouth on it. He gained national attention after he asked William what his son George had received for his third birthday, which had been two days earlier. The Prince had replied: 'I am not telling, he got too many things, he's far too spoilt, he's not into boats yet.' An inquest into his death heard that on July 2 last year, Mr Kay, then 18, took his own life by hanging while staying at the home of a friend in Southampton. He had left a letter saying: 'I couldn't take being hurt bad again. I am sorry I couldn't get past this s**t. Sorry that I wasn't strong enough.' Coroner Jason Pegg told the Winchester hearing that he was taken to Southampton General Hospital but had suffered brain damage because of cardiac arrest caused by the hanging. He said that a decision was taken by medics on July 7 to withdraw treatment and Mr Kay died. Mr Pegg said that Mr Kay, who was diagnosed with ADHD, had been placed in foster care in July 2017, having experienced 'significant instability' and 'chaotic early years' with a 'lack of appropriate male role models'. He added: 'Whilst with foster carers, Zak could be violent towards them, leading to him having several foster care moves.' Mr Pegg told the hearing, which was not attended by any family members, that in May 2024 Mr Kay was being investigated for several alleged offences, including selling cocaine and heroin, and he had breached bail conditions. He added that Mr Kay had made a previous attempt on his life in January 2024, but had failed to respond to approaches by the adult mental health team. Recording a conclusion of suicide, Mr Pegg said: 'Zak had a chaotic and troubled childhood which resulted in Zak being cared for by various foster parents in the Portsmouth area. 'Zak's conduct towards them meant he had various moves. Zak, at the time of his passing, was being investigated for a number of alleged offences, some of which were serious.' When Mr Kay met the royal couple, his mother, Kelly, had said: 'I don't think words can explain how proud I am of Zak. 'He was hugely excited to meet Kate and I was really, really excited and proud of him. I could cry. 'He is very talented and hopefully this will help boost his confidence.'
Reuters
38 minutes ago
- Reuters
Wimbledon increases winners' prize to $4.07M
June 13 - The All England Lawn Tennis Club, organizers of The Wimbledon Championships, announced Thursday that prize money for the players will increase seven percent in 2025 and reach a record $72.59 million -- twice the amount from a decade ago. Both the women's and men's single champions will earn $4.07 million, an 11.1 percent increase from a year ago. Opening round losers will take home nearly $90,000, a 10 percent jump from 2024. "This year's round-by-round breakdown shows our focus on both the early and late rounds of the draw, rewarding the successes of our champions, but also continuing to support the lower-ranked players," said Deborah Levans, chairwoman of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The tournament gets underway on June 30 and concludes on July 13 in London. Reigning French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz will be attempting to defend his Wimbledon title, while Barbora Krejcikova returned from injury last month and will try to recapture her magical run of 2024. In other news from Wimbledon, officials announced that line judges will be replaced by electronic line judging for the first time in the Grand Slam event. Moreover, the singles finals will begin at 11 a.m. ET on July 12 (women's) and July 13 (men's), two hours later than in previous years. --Field Level Media
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Michelin chef wins £20,000 payout after boss ranted about 'unreliable Mexicans' and 'threatened to call the Home Office'
A head chef has won £20,000 for racial and sexual orientation harassment after his boss ranted that 'Mexicans were not reliable people'. A tribunal heard the comments came after head chef Cesar Omar Perez Vargas walked out of a busy Sunday shift because he had been given an 'unreasonable' 60 customers to cook for - more than he was contracted to serve. Musician and then owner of the business Francis Rockcliff said that he would call the Home Office to make sure he was 'sent back to the country that you belong'. He also said he would tell officials that 'you have been sexually harassing all the male staff.' Mr Perez Vargas took the upmarket Pot Kiln gastropub in Thatcham, West Berkshire, to a tribunal. During the proceedings, Mr Rockcliff denied that a social media post referring to Michelin trained chefs as 'people with sautéed egos' was 'directed' at the chef. But a panel found that anyone who was aware of the circumstances around the end of the chef's employment may consider that this is 'exactly who they were referring to'. The judge upheld Mr Perez Vargas' complaints of unfair dismissal and race and sexual orientation harassment and awarded him £20,444.24 in compensation. The tribunal, held in Reading, heard that Mr Perez Vargas starting working as a chef for the Pot Kiln in November 2019. But in April 2022 an 'extra burden' was placed on kitchen staff when the Pot Kiln went from having four chefs to two. Mr Perez Vargas said things 'came to a head' on a busy shift that August. The tribunal panel heard that after walking out, Mr Rockcliff followed the chef outside and the pair ended up having a heated conversation on the street which left Mr Perez Vargas feeling 'shocked, threatened, insecure'. The chef claimed his boss told him: 'I knew that you Mexicans were not reliable people. I will call the Home Office and make sure that they send you back to the country that you belong. I will also tell them that you have been sexually harassing all the male staff.' He also alleged Mr Rockcliff told him that he will 'make sure that no one will give you a job anymore'. Mr Rockcliff - a musician who goes by the professional name of 'Rocky Rockcliff' - denied making those comments. That evening, Mr Rockliff went to the chef's home and collected his keys. Reading employment tribunal, where a panel upheld Mr Perez Vargas' complaints of unfair dismissal and race and sexual orientation harassment and awarded him £20,444.24 in compensation The following day, Mr Perez Vargas - who felt as if staff were being 'overworked' - handed in a letter of resignation. It was heard that Mr Rockcliff sent a text message to staff the following day on how he was 'changing the kitchen culture'. 'I finally lost all the dinosaurs/old brigade chefs to my great relief,' he wrote. The director also wrote that he was 'not sure that Eastern Europeans or Latin Americans have an innate understanding of English regional cookery and/or Mediterranean classic cuisine'. It was heard that Mr Rockliff also made a social media post referring Michelin trained chefs as 'people with sautéed egos who have lost their mojo for the love of cooking and who have overcooked their wallets for fame over food'. During the hearing, Mr Rockcliff was 'emphatic in stating that he is not racist'. The tribunal said that while Mr Rockliff has a 'tendency to talk about people in stereotypical terms', they concluded he did not discriminate against the chef. Employment Judge Andrew Gumbiti-Zimuto said that while the way the boss had expressed himself was 'problematic' and 'offensive, he added: 'We are quite satisfied that the reaction that Mr Rockcliff had to the events on 7 August was a sort of reaction that he would have had with anybody regardless of their race or sexual orientation. 'It was, in our view, a natural response on the part of Mr Rockcliff to be offended by the fact that an employee had walked out on the service.' But, they said that his behaviour after Mr Perez Vargas walked out of the shift could amount to harassment and was 'conduct which had the effect of violating' the claimant's dignity. EJ Gumbiti-Zimuto said that because those comments were clearly related to his race, 'we are satisfied that it related to the protected characteristic of race'. He added: 'Because the comments made reference to (Mr Perez Vargas') sexually harassing all male staff, that it also made reference to his sexual orientation and therefore, in our view, was related to sexual orientation.'
