Christopher Nash failed to pay any income tax or National Insurance contributions (NICs) between April 2010 and April 2017, cheating taxpayers out of £108,131.

HMRC investigators found that over seven years, Nash pocketed £49,000 in cash and cashed cheques totalling £199,000, while working on high-end building and construction projects in London.

HMRC officers found during an investigation into another Dorset-based builder, Carlo Russell, that the men had worked closely together and earned hundreds of thousands of pounds between April 2010 and April 2015.

Russell, who had given Nash the £49,000 cash, was jailed for two years and four months in June 2017 for evading tax and NICs, and ordered to repay £141,453.

Nash admitted tax fraud and was sentenced to 30 months in prison at Bournemouth Crown Court on 14 August 2019. He was ordered to serve half in jail and half on licence.

Confiscation proceedings are under way to recover the money stolen by Nash.

Zoe Ellerbeck, assistant director, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said: ‘As a self-employed builder, Nash knew of his responsibilities to pay tax and National Insurance contributions. Nash made a conscious decision to cheat the public purse but was caught out and is now behind bars.

‘The money he stole is equivalent to the wages of five newly qualified paramedics to serve the South coast. I urge anyone with information about fraud to contact us online or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.’