Conwy sisters tried to claim £161m in VAT, court hears

[muriel_volestrangler]

Two sisters have gone on trial accused of trying to claim back £161m in VAT which they had never paid.

Andrea and Roberta Vaughan-Owen, of Colwyn Bay, also allegedly claimed tens of thousands of pounds in benefits to which they were not entitled.

Both are alleged to have claimed incapacity benefits and working tax credits at the same time, but expressed interest in a £315,000 Rolls Royce.

At Caernarfon Crown Court the sisters deny nine charges. The trial continues.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-15626365

I can't comprehend this. How the hell could anyone think they could get a refund of £161,000,000 of VAT? You'd have to be running a billion pound business; but they were on benefits. I'm damn surprised they could get the rest of what they're accused of - I can understand how someone can fiddle a few thousand pounds, but not how to get enough for "a £400,000 home in Colwyn Bay, rented out a second property, had private health care, paid for private education for Andrea's children and expressed an interest in items such as a £315,000 Rolls Royce".

[Stella_Artois]

1. A sorry state of affairs.

Its a fact that the welfare state has been effectively subverted by greedy, lazy people who exploit the fact that the system is easy to defraud. They probably don't amount to more than a few percent of overall claimants but incidents like this provide ammunition to those who would like to see the whole thing dismantled.

Does need to be reformed though.