A WOMAN who give herself the prefix 'Lady' by deed poll falsely claimed to be a furniture restorer to commit a £166,000 VAT fraud, a court heard.

She has been jailed for two years and eight months.

Lady Deborah Anne Devonshire, 51, of Wood Street, Royal Wootton Bassett, previously known as Georgiana Cavendish, lied that she traded as a furniture restorer and claimed £166,295 in VAT repayments, with £105,763 paid out, between August 2013 and February 2016.

But HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigators could not find any trading activity related to her, with her only income in this period being the VAT refunds from HMRC.

Colin Spinks, assistant director of the HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service, said: “Deborah Devonshire fraudulently used the tax system as her personal bank account.

"She lied about being in business to claim VAT refunds she wasn’t entitled to.

"There was no business to claim refunds for; it was a total fabrication.

“We will continue to pursue those criminals who attack the tax system.

"Anyone with information about suspected VAT fraud should contact our 24-hour hotline.”

Jailing Devonshire at Swindon Crown Court, Mr Recorder Clarkson QC, said: “You may be a fantasist. You obviously have created the prefix ‘Lady’ with a view to being someone you are not.

"You have the style of a fraudster… HMRC’s job is difficult enough.”

The fraud was uncovered by HMRC compliance checks and referred for criminal investigation.

Lady Deborah Anne Devonshire was known as Georgiana Cavendish at the time of her arrest by HMRC in April 2016.

She was living in Oaksey, near Malmesbury, at the time and has since changed her name.

She is also known to have used the name Georgiana Lynn-Halls and was born Deborah Church.

Devonshire pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud relating to submitting VAT returns with fabricated figures between August 1, 2013, and August 31, 2015, and between September 1, 2015, and February 29, 2016.

An HMRC spokesman said: "Anyone with information about suspected tax evasion can contact our hotline on 0800 59 5000 or report it online at www.gov.uk/topic/dealing-with-hmrc/tax-compliance."