Airport car park boss ordered to repay stolen tax or face 3 years behind bars

Brian Pearson, 59, was jailed in October 2017 for three years and two months after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed the Manchester Airport ‘meet and greet’ parking boss stole more than £466,000 from his employees’ Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions (NIC). 

Late last week, Mr Pearson was ordered to repay £297,993 within three months, or spend another three years in prison during a confiscation hearing at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

Pearson now faces losing assets including a villa in Portugal, a personal pension and ISA savings.

Diccon Wood, assistant director of fraud investigation service at the HMRC said:

“Pearson lived the good life while stealing from his own workers as well as the public. His actions put him in jail for a considerable time.

“HMRC will continue to pursue criminals after conviction to seize their ill-gotten assets. We urge anyone with information about tax fraud to contact us online or to call 0800 788 887," Mr Wood noted.

Pearson ran MIA Secure Parking Ltd, a ‘meet and greet’ parking service based in Sharston, Wythenshawe, which later became UK Premier Parking Ltd. Both companies operated parking services focused on nearby Manchester Airport.

As an employer, Pearson was responsible for Income Tax and NIC deductions for employees through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system. The HMRC seized his payroll books in 2015 and found that they were blank. However, employee records and salary statements proved that Pearson was taking Income Tax and NIC for up to 60 of his employees, none of which was paid to HMRC.