A WOMAN has been jailed after admitting a £377,000 fraud by faking invoices for VAT refunds.

Luisa Prior, 51, has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation.

It followed an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs after they became suspicious of VAT refund claims lodged between 2007 and 2012.

Officers visited her home in June 2013 and acted after she printed out a number of invoices before handing them over as ‘legitimate business records’.

Prior ran Brand Development & Management Ltd, which purported to book UK advertising space for an Italian company.

But the investigation discovered she was not only producing false invoices but also illegally reclaiming VAT on invoices she claimed had been paid directly by her clients.

John Cooper, assistant director, criminal investigation, HMRC, said: “Luisa Prior stole more than £377,000 of taxpayers’ money knowing full well that she was not entitled to claim VAT refunds. She produced false invoices in an attempt to hide the fraud.

“The money that she stole should have been spent on running the UK’s public services not as her personal piggy bank. This type of fraud is a serious criminal offence and today’s case will serve as a warning to others who are tempted to play the system.”

Upon sentencing Prior at Winchester Crown Court, Mr Recorder I Lawrie QC, said: “You have to go to prison for the calculated fraud on the Revenue. You persistently indulged in making claims over a considerable period of time.”

HMRC will seek to recover criminal proceeds.