55-year-old, David Mowbray, boss of the Holywell Car Supermarket, used an account belonging to car valet Adam Beattie to buy and sell cars in an attempt to avoid paying tax and hide his firm’s turnover.
Mowbray’s Whitley Bay dealership evaded over £99,000 in VAT, income tax and national insurance, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
A taskforce uncovered the fraud visiting Mowbray at his home in Laurel Terrace, Whitley Bay, in February 2014.
In an interview, Mowbray claimed the valet business belonged to Beattie, who refused to answer any questions put to him.
Beattie later pleaded guilty to money laundering offences and Mowbray admitted to fraudulent evasion of income tax and VAT and money laundering offences.
Mowbray was jailed for two years and 27-year-old Beattie was handed a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay 200 hours of unpaid work.