AN ONLINE trader who cheated the taxman out of more than £300,000 in VAT receipts has been given a suspended prison sentence.

For five years Daniel Waslin, 35, failed to register his business for VAT as he made more than £2.6 million from the sales of remote control golf trolleys and garden furniture imported from China.

He evaded paying £323,000 in VAT.

But HM Revenue and Customs found out about his online auction sales through import checks and he was prosecuted for tax evasion.

Waslin, 35, of South Street, Cottingham, who ran two online shops under the name UK Leisure World and Active Sport Leisure, pleaded guilty to evading VAT.

He was given a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years at Hull Crown Court on condition he does 250 hours unpaid work. The £323,000 has already been paid to the taxman.

Jo Tyler, assistant director, fraud investigation service, HMRC, said:

“Waslin showed utter contempt for the tax system to line his own pockets with money meant for our public services. He thought his online trading would go unnoticed, but he was wrong and now he’s paying the price.

“We will continue working to level the playing field for honest, hardworking businesses to ensure they are not losing out to the tax cheats. We ask anyone with information about tax fraud to contact the HMRC Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”