A BOOKEEPER abused his position as a treasurer of a Hampshire sports club to con HMRC out of nearly £100,000, a court heard.

Jeffrey Tyler pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud over a period of four years which saw him dishonestly collect £92,482 in VAT paybacks from HMRC.

Tyler, 63, “carried out planned crimes” as he manipulated the accounts of Calmore Sports Club (CSC) and his own courier business, Wessex Distributions, to claim money from the government.

Southampton Crown Court heard that Tyler started altering the books at both organisations in 2010, before finally being visited by inspectors in 2014.

Prosecuting, Timothy Moores said Tyler initially lied about the amount he was claiming back, telling officers there was a discrepancy and that he had purchased two caravans when he was asked about the £32,515.31 he got from Wessex Distributions.

Mr Moores told the court that there was a “gradual rise” in the money being collected and at one point the defendant would claim back nearly £5,000 every three months.

Tyler, who worked at Sprinkles Gelato before he was sentenced, was treasurer at the Loperwood Park club for ten years and began changing accounts in 2010, eventually claiming £59,885.57.

Mitigating, Claire Wiggett said Tyler had been made redundant a number of times and struggled with his mortgage repayments which led to him offending.

Miss Wiggett added: “He was not a man living the high life. He committed these offences to keep the house he and his wife had lived in for most of their lives.”

She told the court, Tyler had so far repaid more than £13,000 and that he was “determined to right what he has done wrong”.

In sentencing, Judge Peter Henry said Tyler’s offences were “dishonest” and that he had “abused a position of trust with the club”.

He said: “VAT is one of those taxes which expects citizens to be honest and relies upon that.

“In 2006, right from the start, it appears you were over-claiming and exaggerating inputs and distressing the outputs.”

Judge Henry added: “It could have caused serious financial harm to the club.”

Tyler, of Longstock Crescent, Totton, was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment.

Following the sentencing, Pete Lavelle, chairman of Calmore Cricket Club said the club had not been affected by Tyler’s actions and that he had been “loyal and honest” during his long tenure with the club.

He said: “It’s one of those situations that you can find yourself in.

“People do what they do when they’re in that situation and can do silly things when there is so much at stake.

“He carried out a lot of hard work for 20 years.

“It’s a massive shame.”

Sprinkles Gelato said it was also shocked to hear Tyler had been imprisoned, learning only of the sentence after being contacted by the Daily Echo.

A spokesman said: “Jeff Tyler worked at Sprinkles Gelato as a payroll and book keeper. It was a quite low level job and he was not a decision maker.

“He has been employed with us for over three years and he has been a good employee and did not exhibit anything to warrant suspicion of his character.”

David Margree, assistant director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said Tyler displayed a “blatant disregard for UK tax law” by knowingly defrauding the department of VAT.

Mr Margree added: “He knew what he was doing was wrong and is now serving a jail term.

“It is simply not acceptable to steal from HMRC and honest UK taxpayers.”