Isle of Wight hotelier Martin Hill, who lied about his takings to evade tax, has been jailed for 30 months.
Hill, 51, pocketed £350,000 by lying about the number of bookings at The Burlington (Sandown) and Shanklin Beach (Shanklin) hotels, an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed.
The fraudster, who lives in Calle la Font del Salmitre, Sant Joan d’Alacant, Alicante, Spain, under-declared sales for the 2 hotels between March 2014 to April 2016 and pocketed the VAT he charged guests.
Ben Moore, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said:
“Hill lied to steal and cheat honest taxpayers. Instead of enjoying the proceeds of his crime, he will now be spending time behind bars.
“Tax fraud steals money from our public services such as hospitals and schools. Anyone with information about suspected tax fraud can report it to HMRC online or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”
Hill was arrested in September 2016 following searches at his home and hotels, with investigators seizing computers, business and personal records.
On 15th April 2019, at Southwark Crown Court, Hill pleaded guilty to 3 charges of VAT evasion. He was sentenced to 30 months in jail on Monday (10th June) at the same court, and banned as a director for 7 years.
Hill is known to be a director of Meadowden Consulting Limited.
Shanklin Beach Hotel has been under new ownership since June 2017.
Confiscation proceedings are under way to recover the stolen money.
He still owns and runs the Burlington. I hope people now boycott this hotel and stop this greedy scab from just sitting out the next year and then continuing where he left off.
He stole our money from 6 of us when we booked at the Shanklin beach hotel. The new owners were brilliant & tried there best to accommodate us. Horrid bloke got wat he deserved!!