Fine for fraud cartel mechanic

A mechanic who was part of a cartel of 90 people that took advantage of a flaw in a revenue system has been fined €20,000 and may be ordered to carry out work in the community.

Keith Hogg (aged 29) had only made €1,500 from the scheme even though he had wrongly claimed over €17,000 from the Revenue Commissioners. He had paid over the balance, €15,500, to the orchestrator of the whole scheme who has yet to be dealt with by the courts.

Sergeant Michael McKenna told Judge Katherine Delahunt that to date 30 out of the 90 people involved in this cartel have come before the courts and the investigation into the person who was responsible for the whole fraud was at an advanced stage.

Sgt McKenna said that Hogg was a qualified mechanic running his own business in Santry. He had no previous convictions and had not come to garda attention since.

Hogg of Lorcan Green, Santry, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two charges of knowingly aiding, abetting or assisting in a fraud and to two charges of theft by inducing revenue commissioners to make a payment on dates between March 23 and June 20, 2003.

Judge Delahunt said that Hogg was at the "low to middle level" of this scam but accepted that he was "not the organiser in what was a well-organised fraud".

She accepted that he had no history of criminal activity, that he came from a good family and that he found it difficult to "extract yourself after you became involved".

Judge Delahunt imposed the fine and adjourned the case to next July when she will consider if Hogg is suitable for community service, "to repay to the community some of the damage you have caused".

Sgt McKenna told Mr Benedict O’Floinn BL, prosecuting, that the scam involved the fraudulent filing of Relevant Contracts Tax Deduction Certificate (RCTDC) forms.

These forms are filled in by both the principal contractor and subcontractor on a building project where the principal contractor has stopped 35% of the subcontractor’s payment.

The subcontractor then applies to revenue, using the RCTDC form, to reclaim the deduction.

Sgt McKenna said that there was a flaw in the system at the time because revenue were paying out the 35% before ensuring that it had been actually been paid to them by the principal contractor.

Sgt McKenna said that Hogg had sent in forms claiming that work had been done when it had not and he had never had any tax deducted from him.

He had completed the forms, naming another man and was then issued a cheque from revenue which he lodged to his own account.

He told Mr O’Floinn that revenue had accepted that Hogg had benefited €1,500 from the scam and that they were satisfied that if he repaid this it would make full restitution with them.

Sgt McKenna agreed with Mr John Fitzgerald BL, defending, that Hogg was afraid of the person who got him involved in the first instance.

"He duped himself into believing that it was a legitimate scheme at the time and then felt he had no way out," Sgt McKenna said.

He agreed that Hogg had asked this other man for funding towards his motor rally hobby at the time and had agreed to get involved because of the assistance he was offered.

Mr Fitzgerald said by the time Hogg realised what he was getting into he tried to get out but was threatened by this man.

He said that what his client had done was "stupid" but asked Judge Delahunt to accept that he was only 23 years old at the time.

He is now running his own business, employing two full-time and one part-time mechanics and is working in the community helping young offenders.

Mr Fitzgerald asked Judge Delahunt to accept that Hogg was not the primary mover in this whole scam and that he had the €1,500 in court to make full restitution with revenue.