Nick Johnson QC and Chloe Fordham secure acquittal in £9m HMRC cheat trial

March 26, 2018

Last week after a 9 week trial in the Crown Court at Leeds, Nick Johnson QC and Chloe Fordham, both members of Chambers’ criminal team, secured a unanimous acquittal on behalf of a client running a cut throat defence in an alleged HMRC cheat trial where over £9m was lost to the taxpayer.

The co-accused was convicted and will be sentenced this week.

Instructed and ably assisted by Paul Schofield of Farleys Solicitors, the case concerned an elaborate but false trade in PPI leads, with millions of pounds circulating through Gibraltar and numerous foreign bank accounts, a large proportion ending up in the UAE.

Commenting on the case, Nick said, “It was necessary in this case to demonstrate to the jury precisely how the client had been duped and manipulated by his co-accused. It required a great deal of hard work from all involved, including a detailed analysis of IT and banking evidence. We are delighted with the result.”