Corrupt tax agent arrested in Dumfries jailed for 10 years
Robin Moss was living in the region when he was arrested back in 2018
Last updated 10th Oct 2023
A crooked tax agent who was arrested in Dumfries has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, after stealing over £750,000 in tax and mortgage fraud.
58-year-old Robin Moss was arrested alongside his wife Liliana at their home in Dumfries back in 2018, before being sentenced yesterday on Monday the 9th of October.
After their arrest in 2018, the pair moved to Cumbria, before travelling to Poland.
Mr Moss, who is also an internationally ranked chess player, lied about his income, made false claims in the names of clients, and even provided false documents which were used in fraudulent mortgage applications.
His crimes were exposed by a joint investigation between HM Revenue and Customs, and Leicestershire Police.
At yesterday’s sentencing, his wife Liliana admitted a £115,000 money laundering charge, and was sentenced to seven months in jail, suspended for 12 months.
Liliana was present via video link, while Robin Moss failed to attend.
A range of crimes
The chess whiz was convicted in absence of tax fraud, money laundering, mortgage fraud and theft.
It’s understood Moss spent hundreds of thousands of pounds made from his crimes on luxury goods, including over £100,000 on collectable pottery, nearly £90,000 on gold coins, and nearly £20,000 on jewellery.
Nick Stone, Operational Lead in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said:
“Robin Moss abused his position of trust to steal from clients and the taxpayer.
“Tax fraud is never a victimless crime and the eye watering sums he spent on pottery and gold should have been funding the public services we all rely on.
“I hope this sentence serves as a warning to the minority of corrupt professionals who wrongly believe they can use their knowledge to commit fraud.
“We can and will work with our law enforcement partners to bring you to justice and we encourage anyone with information about any type of tax fraud to report it online.”
A quick verdict
Former Leicestershire Police Detective, Jason Helmn said:
“It took the jury just 55 minutes to find Robin Moss guilty, and I’m glad they saw how this so called ‘professional’ was taking advantage of his clients, who believed his work was genuine.
“He went to great lengths to hide his criminality, shown in a complex web of transactions which proved how he converted his criminally obtained funds into cash and high value items.
“This has been a lengthy investigation and one that has required a lot of hard work and tenacity across both police and HMRC.”
A third person, Rajvir Sahota, admitted mortgage fraud using false documents supplied by Moss. He pleaded guilty in May 2021 and was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, on 9 October 2023.
Action to recover the stolen money is underway.