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Cape Times reports that former SA Revenue Service (SARS) employee and registered tax practitioner, Michael Benson, has been sentenced to an effective six years behind bars for fraud, forgery, uttering and failing to keep proper records.
The Bellville Regional Court convicted Benson on 11 counts of fraud for submission of false VAT201 returns and claiming undue Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds, 27 counts of fraud for submission of false documents to SARS to justify the false VAT claims, 24 counts of forgery, 24 counts of uttering and a count of failing to keep proper records. State Adv Wimpie Els of the Specialist Tax Unit led evidence which revealed that over a period of 25 months, Benson submitted eleven fraudulent VAT201 returns to SARS, claiming refunds based on wholly fabricated information.
After being requested to provide substantiating documentation, he committed further fraud by producing forged invoices, bank statements, and municipal contracts, thereby committing further offences of forgery and uttering. Benson previously worked as a VAT auditor and compliance officer at SARS (1997–2000) and was a qualified and registered tax practitioner (SARS and SA Auditors Board) during the period of the commission of the offences. Despite his subsequent plea for leniency, the court found that Benson acted with knowledge and intent and therefore was fully responsible for his conduct.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Cape Times
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