A COMPANY director who failed to pay VAT totalling €380,730 to the Revenue Commissioners in order to keep a failing business afloat has been given a four-year suspended sentence
Mother-of-two Frances Rowland (54), who was director at Keveller Limited, had a key contract with food processing company, Kepak, based in Clonee, Co Meath, supplying staff to the company.
Following an audit by the Revenue Commissioners, Rowland admitted she had not remitted her VAT invoices as she “needed the money to pay staff and keep the business running.”
Rowland of Meadow Green, Clonsilla, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to filing incorrect VAT returns on May 31st, 2001 for the period March 9th, 2000 to February 28th, 2001.
Seán Gillane SC, defending told the court that Keveller Limited was not making a profit and Ms Rowland began to take from what was due to the Revenue Commissioners to pay operating costs and wages.
“She does not have any assets or personal wealth,” said Mr Gillane.
He told the court that the business was set up after Rowland, who was originally a meat packer for Kepak, saw an opportunity to get involved with supplying labour to Kepak after another company’s contract was not renewed.
“She was not lining her own pocket,” he explained.
On handing down a four-year suspended sentence, Judge Martin Nolan noted that Rowland “embarked on an enterprise she was unsuited for and she obviously charged VAT but did not remit a large proportion of it to the Revenue.”
“She did not benefit directly from this only to keep the business going longer than she should have. She was a revenue collector and this is akin to stealing and is a serious offence,” added Judge Nolan.
“The most critical factor here is how did she benefit? She didn’t use the money for high living and it seems she used the money to keep a failing business going as she did not have the courage to stop the business,” he said.