A DISABLED Droitwich man has admitted a £63,000 VAT fraud and producing false invoices to 'cover his tracks'.

Jayson Ledbury admitted the fraud when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday before recorder Martin Jackson who told him he could be jailed.

The 45-year-old of Vines Lane, Droitwich, admitted being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of Value Added Tax between January 1, 2012 and June 30, 2016 which involved a sum of £63,744.81.

He further admitted making or supplying articles for use in frauds between October 20, 2014 and November 30, 2015.

The offence involved Ledbury making 29 invoices knowing that they were designed or adapted for use in the course of, or in connection with, a fraud.

Michael Aspinall, prosecuting, said the case involved 18 returns over a four and a half year period and that the offences demonstrated higher culpability within the sentencing guidelines with a starting point of two and a half years in custody and a range of 15 months to three and a half years.

Mr Aspinall said of the offences: “It isn’t sophisticated. There were attempts – and we say this is an aggravating feature – to create false purchases, false invoices, to cover up the fraud. The fraud itself is not sophisticated. It was submitting returns, seeking repayment. It carried on for four and a half years. That, in my submission, is a sustained period of time. An aggravating feature is the production of false invoices to cover the tracks.”

Work is underway to recover the funds via civil means the court heard.

Mark Lister, defending, said: “It clearly crosses the custody threshold. I don’t seek to dissuade you from my learned friend’s submission.”

However, he described Ledbury as a man of previous good character and said, before the offences were committed, Ledbury had suffered a very serious accident which resulted in the amputation of a lower leg. Ledbury appeared in court in a wheelchair.

Mr Lister said the accident was ‘what caused him to go down the route that he did’ and asked that a suspended sentence be considered.

Recorder Jackson adjourned sentence for the preparation of a pre-sentence report and said, if there were medical factors that were going to be relevant, then it would be sensible to have something provided from a GP or from the hospital doctor responsible for treating Ledbury.

Recorder Jackson said: “I’m not making any promises at all about the sentence that may be received. All options, including immediate custody, are going to be on the table.”

He adjourned the case until September 27. Ledbury was given unconditional bail until the next hearing.