3 days ago
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 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 Honour Judge Simon Phillips KC told McDaid he would be sentenced at the end of the trial, which was expected to last about two 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 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 that time, McDaid, of Sandal Magna, Halifax, owned Casa Events, while Mr Revy-Holmes, of Upper Marsh, Halifax, was registered as a company Brook, of Orchid Grove, Netherton, was director of Yorkshire Accountancy Services and worked as the accountant for Casa Events, Mr Russell told 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 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 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 trial continues.
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