Isle of Wight IT company DataSwift – and its director – have been sentenced after admitting offences relating to a failure to provide financial security for tax payments.
DataSwift Network Services Ltd, based at Wootton Business Park, and its sole director, 45-year-old Luke Jefferies, of Fairlee Road in Newport, appeared before the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court for sentencing last Thursday (30th July).
The company and Jefferies each pleaded guilty to offences committed in April 2025 after failing to provide financial security required by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in relation to PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions.
HMRC can require businesses to provide such security where it believes there is a risk that future tax liabilities may not be paid.
DataSwift was fined £2,000 by District Judge Anthony Callaway. The company was also ordered to pay an £800 victim surcharge and £200 in prosecution costs, taking the total financial penalty to £3,000. The amount is to be paid by 27th August 2026.
The court did not impose a separate penalty on Jefferies.
The case was prosecuted by the Wessex Fraud Unit, a specialist team of prosecutors within the Crown Prosecution Service.
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The latest accounts filed by DataSwift, covering the year to 30th June 2025, show the company owed £107,684 in VAT and a further £109,145 under taxes and social security – a combined £216,829 due within 1 year. The equivalent figure in the previous year’s accounts stood at £94,153, representing an increase of more than £122,000 in 12 months.
