British hooker jailed for tax fraud

By Peter Ndoria

A £1000 (Sh130, 000) a-night prostitute has been jailed for tax evasion. The 29 year-old self-employed high-class escort earned more than Sh39m in two years by selling herself to wealthy businessmen.

She went on to study for a master’s degree while she paid a £110,000 (Sh14.3m) cash deposit on a £360,000 (Sh47m) apartment in central London.

When police raided her home, officers uncovered nearly £80,000 in cash along with valuable jewellery given to her by clients. The court heard that the lady started working as a prostitute to fund a master’s degree at the University of Westminster.

career

The court heard that precise figures were difficult to establish “given the nature of the employment she was engaged in” after she claimed she had worked as an escort for a decade.

The prosecutor told the court that escort failed to file any tax returns for most of her working career.

“This defendant was working for years as an escort and in that job she received significant sums of money,” he said, and quoted the deposit on her flat, paid in cash.

Upon arrest however, the woman read out a pre-prepared statement in which she said she had been a self-employed escort for about ten years, and that she was often paid in cash and received valuable jewellery in gifts.

Embarrasment

She wept as the court was told that her parents, father aged, 52, and mother, 51, learned of her secret double life as a prostitute after the police began their case against her.

Her lawyer, however, pointed out that it was lamentable that any young woman should have to go to London and do that kind of work in order to support herself.

“Her family has been embarrassed by these proceedings, not only because of the offence but because they didn’t know she was working as an escort in the first place.

” he stated adding that the criminal offence was committed in naivety on her part, as she was only 22 when she started.

“Since this has been hanging over her, she had suffered from depression and insomnia and has taken illicit drugs, and has dropped out of her master’s degree,” said the lawyer.

Jailing her for 16 months, the Judge said she had deliberately avoided paying any tax from the start.

“The amount of tax which is subject to this charge which has been evaded is £120,000 (Sh15.6m),” he said.

“In my judgment, this was an offence that was fraudulent from the outset, carried out over a significant period of time.

CONSULTANT

From the outset the defendant made the decision that she was not going to account to the public authorities for the money that she was receiving from her occupation,” ruled the judge. 

She had denied one charge of money laundering for two alleged criminals and using deception to obtain her mortgage after she had pretended to be a racehorse consultant.

She, however, admitted one count of cheating the public revenue between April 2005 and January 2007, when she earned more than £300,000 (Sh40.2 million) as an escort.