An accountant has been sentenced to a year in jail after being convicted of stealing more than €76,000 from a client.

James Joseph Heaney (45), with an address at Spruce Meadows, Derry, was found to have collected VAT payments and then falsified the return allowing him pay a lesser amount to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

In this way he kept over £55,000 which he subsequently used to buy a property.

An investigation into his activities also found he had fraudulently claimed tax credits for work as a handyman, benefitting him to the tune of £14,000 (€19,000).

Mike Parkinson, assistant director of the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, which announced the outcome of the investigation today, said: "Heaney was in a position of trust but chose to deliberately defraud his own client and cheat the taxpayer.

“He was a determined and cynical fraudster who, on this occasion, seems to have offered his professional services simply to access his clients’ money and fraudulently line his own pockets.”

Before sentencing on Wednesday, Mr Heaney had previously pleaded guilty to numerous charges including fraudulent evasion of VAT, forgery and theft.