A businessman who fraudulently reclaimed Vat after falling into “dire financial circumstances” with a development project when the housing market collapsed may perform community service.

Dubliner Patrick Chambers (65) committed the offences to generate funds after falling into difficulty with a large loan he had taken out to develop a second property on the grounds of his family home.

Mr Chambers of Brennanstown Vale, Foxrock pleaded guilty to four counts of claiming repayment of Vat to which he was not entitled on dates between July 2009 and March 2010 and to producing an incorrect invoice in connection with Vat in July 2012.

The total loss to the exchequer was €35,780. Mr Chambers has no previous convictions.

Shane Costelloe BL, defending, submitted that Mr Chambers had not taken out the loan to “make a quick buck” but to meet costs that arose following the end of his marriage and that he was anxious to repay the money.

He said Mr Chambers was a talented software engineer who had once employed 170 people before his company was bought out and some form of community based work may be appropriate.

Assessment

Judge Melanie Greally at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court ordered that Mr Chambers’s suitability for community service be assessed and adjourned sentencing until July 21st next.

John O’Reilly, of the Revenue Commissioners, told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that following a series of audits relating to Mr Chambers, the tax authority launched an investigation in 2012.

Revenue established that Chambers had reclaimed Vat to which he was not entitled by double counting invoices, creating invoices from himself to himself and fraudulently creating invoices.

Mr Chambers was fully co-operative and told the investigation he had committed the offences because he was desperate for money as he was in “dire financial circumstances.”

Mr O’Reilly agreed with Mr Costelloe that Mr Chambers’ early guilty plea was especially useful as the trial would have been complex and it would have been difficult to convey the evidence to the jury in a way they would understand.

Property collapse

Mr Costelloe said the genesis of the offences was the collapse of the property market at the end of 2008. He said Mr Chambers had separated from his wife in better economic times and had bought his wife out of her share of the family home. He also had responsibilities towards the upkeep of his children.

Counsel said Mr Chambers took out a loan of over €1 million to develop a property at the back of the family home with a view to selling it for a profit.

Mr Costelloe said that at the time due to the prices given for “large opulent houses” in the area he would have been able to clear the loan. However when the market crashed and the bank sought its money back, Mr Chambers lost the development as well as his family home which he is due to leave in June.

He said it was during this period that Mr Chambers committed the offences and he was, to all intents and purposes, bankrupt.

Counsel handed in a number of reports and submitted that Mr Chambers was at low risk of re-offending. He fully accepted responsibility for what he did and was deeply remorseful.

Mr Costelloe said Mr Chambers was anxious to repay the money, possibly with an annuity from his pension. He submitted a custodial sentence was not necessary to send a message about these types of crime.