Bad spelling foils tax cheat from 'Bumfries'

A Fraudster's attempt to claim £6.8million in bogus tax rebates failed when he misspelled "Dumfries" in Scotland as "Bumfries" on a fake invoice.

Gregory Roberts, 39, filed applications for the return of VAT, income tax and corporation tax, styling himself as Lord Roberts and using a forged bank statement showing £25million of business.

He produced a false invoice for £17.6million which was undated, carried the misspelt address and gave a premium rate phone number as his contact number. He was arrested after a tax official visited his one-bedroom flat to check his claims.

At the Old Bailey, Roberts, of Hoxton, admitted two charges of fraud. Jailing him for two months, Judge Paul Worsley QC said: "The public pays for frauds on the taxman."