Fraudster jailed for 3.5 years after self-assessment scam

Ukrainian Dmytro Shepel, 25, registered 350 fake identities on the Self-Assessment tax system before using them to claim tax repayments totalling £645,721.42. HMRC paid out £559,497.42 of these claims. Mr Shepel was using a false Lithuanian identity and had opened 74 bank accounts over two years, later used to receive false tax repayments. He pleaded guilty of cheating the public revenue and possessing an identity document that was false. Mr Shepel was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment and will be deported on release. Simon Grunwell, assistant director of HMRC Cri...