Wolverhampton boss confesses to fraud

A high flying businessman and boss of collapsed company, payroll provider Accountable Accountancy Limited, confesses to fraud. David Smith, MD of the company has had all his assets frozen with debts of over £20 million.

Smith who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and once posted photos of himself with professional footballers confessed that it was all fraud after the company went into voluntary liquidation.

The collapse of the company, which went into voluntary liquidation in 2017, sparked an investigation into a suspected mini umbrella fraud. The investigation which is still ongoing, shows that the company owes amongst others, £17 million to the taxman.

Smith in a candid interview with Birmingham Live, said that he regretted the collapse of the company and that he had lost everything including having to sell his home to pay liquidators.

He said: “I’ve done everything that I can to try and hold my hands up and say, ‘Look, I’ve been a fool, I’ve got caught up in something that really I should have done more due diligence around myself.

“At the end of the day I was responsible for that company and it’s my company which has ultimately paid the price.

“It was fraud, the model we used was mini umbrella payroll fraud. I’d love to say I’m the innocent party but I’m not.”

It is thought that the company took advantage of a payroll model offering small firms tax breaks and the flat rate VAT scheme (FRV). The payroll scheme was set up by the government to help small businesses in a number of industries by part funding payroll costs.

The scheme was only available to companies with four or less staff however larger companies often split themselves into smaller ones to take advantage of the funding and FRV. In the process these companies could claim support at eh same time avoiding tax.

At the height of the company’s success, Accountable were believed to employ around 6,500 temporary workers and to earn in excess of £2 million a week. Around £100 million is believed to have gone through the company’s books before the voluntary liquidation less than two years after its launch.

The admission wherein Smith the boss, confesses to fraud is not unusual with schemes to defraud the government usually going sour.

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