Former Young Farmer of the Year ordered to repay £149,205 after HMRC VAT-fraud conviction

A judge has ordered Jack Stilwell to repay £149,205, about nine percent of the £1.8 million he swindled from HMRC. The 34-year-old from Rowlands Castle, Hampshire, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to three counts of furnishing false VAT returns.

Stilwell admitted the charges at an April sentencing hearing. HMRC said the offences were carried out across three of his agricultural businesses between November 2021 and July 2022.

The court detailed the amounts involved: 20 false VAT statements for Roundstone Beef Ltd totaling £1,278,277.13; a single false VAT statement in July 2022 for Greenwell Farms Ltd claiming £37,621; and eight false statements for Greenwell Holdings Ltd totaling £568,345.66.

The fraud occurred as Stilwell expanded his farming enterprise after launching an industry-leading crowdfunding campaign. In 2015, while in his final year at Harper Adams University, he raised £4,000 to buy beef cattle and lease land. The business grew to include more than 200 Hereford and Aberdeen Angus cattle across several farms. Stilwell was named Young Farmer of the Year in 2015 and later featured on BBC Countryfile after the fundraising campaign.

At sentencing, Judge James Newton-Price said a repayment period of 18 months would be appropriate, though Stilwell’s defence argued that three months would suffice.

A spokesperson for HMRC said: 'Tax fraud is not a victimless crime. The tax we all pay helps to fund the public services we rely on. The majority pay the tax that is due, but a determined minority refuse to play by the rules. We are determined to create a level playing field to allow honest businesses to thrive and we encourage anyone with information about tax fraud or money laundering to report it online.'

The case underscores ongoing enforcement against VAT fraud in the farming sector and serves as a reminder that authorities will pursue suspected tax evasion to protect public revenue.