£6m fraudsters jailed
Published: 15:28, 21 December 2010
A Kent couple whose gang stole £6 million of taxpayers’ cash blew it on exotic holidays, a plush mansion and boob jobs.
Man and wife Youri Khomitch and Victoria Chambers even paid for their children’s education at a posh private school.
The fraudster couple were among six gangsters at Croydon Crown Court jailed for a total of 33 years.
It followed a complex fraud investigation by HM Revenue & Customs.
Ringleaders Khomitch and Chambers masterminded a series of firms offering accountancy services for Eastern European workers.
But instead they hijacked their victims’ identities and made up others to file more than 3,000 fraudulent self assessment tax returns over four years.
Khomitch, 36, and Chambers, 37, used the cash to buy a luxury home in a gated community in West Malling.
Inside they fitted flat-screen TVs in every room and installed an en-suite sauna and outdoor hot tub.
The pair also bought a string of properties worth almost £2m across London and Kent and enjoyed expensive holidays to Japan, Dubai, New York and Thailand.
Chambers spent thousands of pounds on gold and diamond jewellery and a breast enlargement operation.
When they were arrested, HMRC officers found over £130,000 in cash and £380,000 of payable orders from HMRC.
Peter Hollier, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation for HMRC said: "This was an organised criminal attack on the public purse.
"This gang stole identities and exploited innocent citizens with no regard for the consequences – they were solely motivated by greed.
"Tax fraud is not a victimless crime – it takes money away from vital public services, and HMRC is determined to make the perpetrators of these crimes face the full force of the law."
The gang members are currently subject of a restraint order, freezing assets of over £2 million. Confiscation proceedings are underway.
Khomitch was handed seven years behind bars and Chambers got four.
Both lived in their luxury pad at Hollandbury Park, Kings Hill.
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