A male stripping troupe manager who spent more than a year on the run under a fake name after being convicted of benefit fraud has finally been found and jailed.
Laurel Goodman, 57, was the manager of prolific stripping troupe Dream Idols, but alongside business partner Barry "Bari Bacco" Solomons, 72, failed to declare income of more than £219,000 to HMRC between 2007 and 2013, evading £57,000 in income tax.
Over the same time period, Goodman, from Willifield Way in Hampstead, dodged a further £114,000 in income tax on earnings of £402,000 from managing Dream Idols.
Her fraud was uncovered when Department for Work and Pensions officers found she had falsely claimed employment and support allowance totaling £5,472.90.
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Goodman faced trial for fraudulent evasion of income tax as well as income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud in September 2016 but wrote to her lawyer the day before saying “I am going somewhere where I am safe and cannot be found.”
In her absence, she was sentenced to 28 months in prison and an arrest warrant was issued.
Solomons, of Sussex Place in Bristol, was given the same sentence and has since served it and been released.
During her 458 days on the run, Goodman moved from her Hampstead home, where average house prices are well in excess of £1.1 million according to Zoopla, to a £1,600-a-month rented house in Wells-next-the-Sea, in Norfolk.
There she created a new identity, Chassie Tatum, and established a business called "Pet Superstars", which made films advertising pet supplies, turning over more than £70,000 in 2016.
However, investigators managed to track her down and arrest her on December 1, 2017, and she admitted skipping bail via video-link at Blackfriars Crown Court.
Her Honour Judge Sullivan extended her sentence by four months and said: “This was a serious attempt to evade justice.”.
Attempts are being made by HMRC to recover the money Goodman stole from the taxpayers.
Martin Brown, Assistant Director of the fraud investigation service at the HMRC, said: “Goodman tried to run but couldn’t hide from our investigators.
"She chose to abscond before being sentenced for cheating taxpayers and stealing money needed to fund vital public services.
"Despite moving to a remote location, where she lived under an assumed identity, she was tracked down, arrested and brought before the judge for sentence.
“If you know of anyone who is committing tax fraud, I urge you to report it online or call our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”
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