A Chippenham fraudster who conned his ex-partner and the HMRC has been jailed.
Oliver Cooper pleaded guilty to various financial offences back in 2023 – and was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court today (Friday).
The 33-year-old forged his former partner’s signature and placed it into online documents in order to change the amount of equity held in their jointly owned property in Assart Way.
The fraud resulted in a loss of approximately £71,000 to the victim, in what is described as “domestic abuse” by Acting Detective Sergeant Martyn Powell.
The defendant was arrested soon after a report was made to Wiltshire Police in 2022, and an investigation quickly established his criminal acts.
However, Cooper continued to attempt to control and manipulate the victim through delays in the criminal and civil court processes for more than two years, until this all finally caught up with him.
He was jailed for two years and nine months for the offences against his ex-parter.
A second investigation by the HMRC revealed that Cooper had submitted fraudulent VAT claims on behalf of his cleaning company business between July 2019 and March 2022.
He pleaded guilty to a £200,000 VAT fraud and a money laundering offence – resulting in a second sentence. In total, he’ll serve a prison term of five years and six months.
A/DS Powell from the South Volume Crime Team said: “Financial abuse is a form of domestic violence and is used to help the perpetrators control and manipulate the victim, leaving them unable to move on, to escape the abuse or at risk of other types of control.
“The police are fully equipped to investigate and identify methods of financial abuse and I hope that the sentence today gives courage to urge all victims of domestic violence, no matter the form it comes in, to come forward and seek support from us.”
Matt Moignard, Operational Lead in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said: “The vast majority pay the tax that’s due, but fraudsters like Cooper think they can lie, cheat, and steal.
“We’re determined to create a level playing field for all and this shows how we work closely with our law enforcement partners to bring tax fraudsters to justice.
“Such crimes have real consequences for the public services we all rely on and we encourage anyone with information about any type of tax fraud or money laundering to report it online.”
