The organiser of a failed music festival at a historic north-east landmark has admitted swindling the tax man out of nearly £100,000.
Musician Brian Davies pulled the plug on the Crathes Castle event in 2009 – and claimed he had been forced into the move by poor ticket sales.
But now it has emerged the 64-year-old, who lives in a caravan, falsified VAT forms to claim £99,000 from HM Revenue and Customs.
Yesterday, he was warned he would face a prison sentence unless he repaid all the money he took by next month.
Drummer Davies appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court for sentence yesterday after admitting defrauding the Treasury to try to save his ailing New Dawn Promotions company.
His agent, solicitor Bill Adam said Davies, of Mulben, near Keith, overreached himself after organising a successful concert in Chester and got “carried away” speaking to bands and promoters.
Scottish rockers Nazareth were due to appear at the three-day Deeside festival, called “Music at Crathes”, alongside Marillion singer Fish, Aberdeen band Fubar, the National Symphony Orchestra and Eagles and Fleetwood Mac tribute acts.
When the event – which was due to take place in August 2009 – was cancelled Davies told the Press and Journal only 142 tickets had been sold, with 2,000 needed to make it “viable”.
He also scrapped a “Memories of Woodstock” festival – organised to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the legendary event – in Shrewsbury the same month after bands pulled out claiming they had not been paid.
Mr Adam said: “It was over-optimistic, wishful thinking. He fully expected these festivals to go ahead.
“He got caught up speaking to these artists and agents and Crathes Castle. He fully wanted them to proceed but was blind to the reality they were never going to get off the ground and should have stopped.”
Mr Adam said Davies had ploughed more than £260,000 into the doomed venture – including a substantial amount from his own savings.
Davies filled out tax forms based on quotes received from acts and suppliers due to be involved in the two festivals.
However, fiscal Kevin Corrins revealed that many of the “hundreds” of musicians and firms contacted were never paid – with only some receiving deposits.
Davies then received VAT repayments from HMRC based on transactions that never happened.
Mr Corrins said: “When a search warrant was executed it was noted there was no clear bookkeeping for the business.
“Further investigations discovered Mr Davies had attempted to set up several music festivals and made inquiries with several bands but all but one of the festivals had been cancelled at the last minute.”
Mr Corrins added the swindled money was used to “manage or fund” the business.
Mr Adam insisted his client had intended to make the payments to the bands and suppliers and was under the impression the over-payment from HMRC could be corrected in future returns.
Yesterday bank statements from Davies were produced showing he could pay back about £90,000 of the money immediately.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov told him he would avoid a prison sentence if he had repaid the full amount to HMRC before February 9.
Davies, of Fangorn Farm, Mulben, will return to court next month.
At a previous hearing he admitted knowingly evading making payments to HMRC by filling out false details on VAT returns for New Dawn Promotions between May 2008 and October 2009 to obtain the sum of £99,000.
