A fake developer has landed in hot water after admitting to his recent offence...

Gary Gibson, 60, of Western Harbour Terrace, Edinburgh, admitted to falsifying business records while claiming to be building residential properties on Scottish Borders. However, in actual fact the houses were never built.

He pleaded guilty to submitting fraudulent VAT claims between March 2009 and June 2010 and according to Assistant Director of the HMRC’s Criminal Investigation, Anne-Marie Gordon, Gibson made huge profits from this organised fraud.

“He knew that by stealing VAT he was breaking the law. But he took the opportunity to make what he wrongly assumed would be easy money, at the expense of the UK taxpayer. He now has to pay the price for his criminal activities,” she added.

“Tax fraud is a serious offence and I urge anyone with information about people or businesses involved in tax fraud to contact the HMRC Tax Evasion hotline on 0800 788 887.”

Along with the £100,000 compensation order against him, Gibson has been electronically tagged for eight months binding him to a residential curfew between 9pm and 6am.