LONDON, Dec. 1 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:
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Felix Milton has been banned from acting as a company director for 15 years aftersubmittingfalsified bank statements to obtain a £150,000 government-backed loan and a VAT refund of almost £180,000
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Milton alteredseveral documentsto show millions of pounds in his company account when the true balance wasas little as £3.20, and created fake invoices to support the claims
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The Nameless Ltd.was wound up in August2022,and Milton's misconduct could have cost HMRevenue andCustoms(HMRC)millions of poundsmorehad they not detected and blocked further falsifiedVAT claims
A music producer whofalsified bank statements toconvinceafinance provider to lend his company£150,000andfabricated invoices toHMRChas been disqualified for the maximum term of 15 years.
Felix Miltondramatically misrepresented the financial position ofhis company, The Nameless Ltd.,by millions of poundsin obtaining the loan in the autumn of 2021.
Earlier that year, the company secured a VAT refund of almost £180,000from HMRC which was supportedby falsified bank statements and fake purchase invoices.
The 43-year-old thenattemptedto secure a further £4.3 million in VAT refunds using falsifiedinvoices which were denied when HMRC became aware that the documentswerefalse.
Milton, ofThorpebankRoad, London,was disqualified at a hearing of the High Court in Londonon Tuesday 4 November, with his ban coming into effect on Tuesday 25 November.
He was also ordered to pay costs of£10,826.
Victoria Edgar,Chief Investigatorat the Insolvency Service, said:
FelixMiltonsignificantly alterednumerousbank statements to make his company appear more financially stableand successful than itactually was.
His deception tricked a finance provider into lending money it would never have approved and obtained VAT refunds the company was not entitled to.
In disqualifying Milton for themaximumperiod of 15 years, the judge describedhismisconduct as 'fraud two times over'.
The business community and wider publicdeserveprotectionfrom those whodemonstratethat they arewholly unfitto act as company directors. Milton's ban runs until November 2040,reflecting the severity of his dishonest conduct.
Milton described himself on social media as having "immense success" as a music producer and mix engineer for more than two decades in the music industry both in the UK and internationally.
The Nameless Ltd.began trading inFebruary 2018. Miltonsaid it was amusic production service which bought equipment in the UK to sell abroad for a profit.
However, by the end of September 2021, the company bank accounts showed a balance of just £3.20.
Milton presented falsified versionsof the company's bank statements,which showeda balance of £7.6 millionto the lender one month later in applying for a £150,000loan under the Recovery Loan Scheme - a government scheme supporting access to finance for small and medium-sized UK businesses.
Inthe falsified statements, transaction amounts were inflated, payments to personal accounts weredeleted, and balances were increased to show sums in the millions rather than the actual figures of hundreds or low thousands of pounds.
The finance company confirmed it would never have approved the loan application had it been aware of The Nameless Ltd.'s true financial position.
Milton caused the company tosubmitfalse information to HMRC toclaim VAT refunds from May 2021.
TheNameless Ltd.successfully obtained a VAT refund of £179,444 for the period covering February 2020 to January 2021, supported by falsified bank statements and fake purchase invoices.
When HMRC contacted thesuppliersnamed on the invoices to verify them, they confirmed the invoices were not genuine and that they had conducted little or no actual business with The Nameless Ltd.
Miltonfailed toaccept responsibility for his actionsduring the investigations.He initially blamed a deceased business partner for creating the false documents, despite being the sole director responsible for the day-to-day running of the company and the sole signatory on the bank account.
However, Miltonlater acknowledged his involvementin altering the invoices.
The Nameless Ltd. entered compulsory liquidation in August 2022, owing more than £4 million to creditors.
Milton did not defend the disqualification proceedings brought against himby the Insolvency Service.
The disqualification order prevents himfrom being involved in the promotion,formationor management of a company, without the permission of the court.
FurtherInsolvency Serviceenquiriesinto Milton remainongoing.
Further information
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Felix Milton is ofThorpebankRoad, London. His date of birth is 18 June 1982
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The Nameless Ltd.(company number11201277)
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Individuals subject to a disqualification order or undertaking are bound by arange of restrictions
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Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
