A TSR FA has been convicted of fraud in the UK, this is the second time this FA has appeared before the courts for the same crime. I am still awaiting more details on the outcome of the first trial, which took place in January of last year; lack of information on the outcome prevented me from reporting on this at the time. Thomas flew out to the UK in the same week as the first trial took place, whether his flight was in fact connected to the trial is unknown. Details of the outcome still remain sketchy.
The same FA, already famed for allegedly stealing meshes of plant pots from MTS and selling them on TSR, has continued to commit the same crime of defrauding the UK government and has been brought to justice once more.
The fraud took place when this FA officially claimed that she was not working. She Shake and Shafted the UK government into paying her full welfare benefits by claiming she did not work and cannot work in any capacity due to ill health and has no other income, when in fact she was earning a set payment from her work at TSR and was paid $800 per month, which has risen up to $1000 per month. This fraud has been going on since Jan 2, 2006, so even at the lower rate of earnings I calculate she owes the UK tax payers over $50,000 for the period ending March 2011 when she was convicted. She has been ordered to return the money she has stolen, although it is not clear if she has to pay back the full amount, I imagine she would have to. She also has to pay the court fees and complete work in the community by cleaning public toilets.
She is still working as an FA, and still earning her fixed monthly payments, so either she has taken a cut in payments from the welfare system, or she is heading for her third fraud conviction.
I wonder how many other FA’s at TSR are committing the same crime; many countries all over the world have welfare systems just waiting to be abused by the greedy and the lazy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_benefits Such benefits are paid for by the taxes of hard working citizens, and it is sad to see this system being abused.
This shows TSR’s obvious disregard for the law by illegally employing workers and failing to obtain and register a social security number from any of its employees. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_identification_number
Which brings me to tax, how many FA’s, or indeed TSR themselves are paying tax on their earnings? Not many. For reference, this page shows the Swedish tax system including business tax rates, click on the list on the left of the page to see the tax rates in other countries. How much are TSR and its FA’s stealing from you?
http://www.taxrates.cc/html/sweden-tax-rates.html
I have a feeling this will not be the last fraud conviction we hear about.
Oh my God. We already have trillions of pounds of debt. Plus a country which has a screwy government (okay, could be worse). And it’s partly thanks to morons like this. Nice going TSR, you obviously employ the most reputable people ever. Rubbishy gold star sticker from Poundland that won’t stick, with the gold foil peeling off as soon as you take it off the backing plastic, leaving a greenish nasty tinge on your skin because it’s so cheap and crappy. Well done.
Comment by M. — May 4, 2011 @ 06:36
Now I get why ShakeShaft could so easily steal someone’s stuff, deny everything when the theft was obvious to everyone, and then proceed like nothing had happened. If you can steal almost 1000 bucks every month from your government and not lose sleep over it, then this is peanuts.
Comment by Lol — May 4, 2011 @ 18:58
I shall take a grand tour of the country, taking a nice big smelly dump in every public toilet so that she has lots of work
Reply: LMAO
-Coconut
Comment by Sparkle — May 4, 2011 @ 21:04
No matter much you try to cover these things up, the truth will eventually come out. Thanks for posting Coconut, provided me a giggle this morning.
Comment by sojourner — May 5, 2011 @ 00:04
It isn’t TSR that is commiting the fraud but the artist. She would be considered self-employed in the UK and as such it is up to her to declare her earnings and pay tax on them. You can’t blame TSR for this one (as much as I would like to!), it’s the greedy, money-grabbing FA that is at fault here.
Comment by RH — May 5, 2011 @ 02:01
Omg, this is awesome! WTG for convicting this fraudster, UK, and cleaning public toilets seems fitting for her somehow.
I may not be the most righteous person in the world, but I have nothing but contempt for welfare fraud, especially when many of those who pay the taxes to support public aid are hurting themselves. The UK has enough problems with cutting the funding for homeless shelters and other social safety nets for the vulnerable ones who truly need them; what Shakeshaft did is just sickening.
Thanks for posting this, Coconut. I had a good laugh at this article and a satisfied feeling that justice is finally getting done. Granted, she’s just a small fish, but like you said, if enough of them get convicted, then TSR could get in some big trouble.
Sometimes you have to go after the little guys to get to the boss. If I recall correctly, that’s how some mafia bosses were put away years ago.
Comment by CoconutFan — May 5, 2011 @ 08:05
RH, I don’t know how it is in other countries, but if Thomas doesn’t give his American FAs a 1099 form or takes a percentage of their income for taxes (etc.), then he is liable. However, if he did either of those things, then he wouldn’t be at fault.
Reply: I can confirm that the only form any employee at TSR is given is an NDA ( Non Disclosure ) Form.
-Coconut
Comment by CoconutFan — May 5, 2011 @ 08:09
I believe you, Coconut.
It really does look like Thomass’ “oversight” (not following tax protocol for various countries) will help dig his hole even more.
Comment by CoconutFan — May 5, 2011 @ 20:52
I am not one of your minions so could you please provide a little more evidence apart from a sweeping statement to this being true.
Reply: ..And I am not your lap dog. How about you spend a few years under cover at TSR and get it yourself? Could you also clarify what you mean by ‘minions’ as I was not aware that I had any.
-Coconut
Comment by buggybooz — May 6, 2011 @ 01:52
Me having been the someone at the beginning that this peron so blatantly stole from.
Reply: Yes, I am aware of the alleged mesh theft. A plant pot, right?
-Coconut
Comment by buggybooz — May 6, 2011 @ 01:55
Not only she is a thief, but dense. The government is the first to get you, they will catch whatever devious thing you do when dealing with public assistance. Geez! Now she have been caught once, don’t she know the government will be eyeing everything she do? Stupid!
Comment by B — May 6, 2011 @ 05:16
Can we report him to the IRS?
Comment by Skoria_Bay — May 6, 2011 @ 08:07
Oh, cool! Can I be a minion? Please? I’m tired of ordering people around, running projects and heading investigative/research teams in real life. It would be nice to be a mindless slave or cult member (Coconut can haz cult, plz?) and actually have time to play any kind of game and talk to my online buddies for once! YAY!!
@Skorio_Bay: Give it a shot!
The IRS is always willing to hear about tax evasions or irregularities, and they can never hear enough. However, it might be best to report on the individual FAs along with information about TSR’s “incentive” system. It’s even better if you have government connections that you can talk to over a friendly lunch. 
@Buggybooz: I can understand your need for proof, and I think we all want something solid we can sink our teeth into.
Part of what makes this site so popular is the screenshots that were posted from deep inside TSR. However, with the precautions that TSR has taken to ensure that their conversations never see the light of day, it is entirely possible that Coconut cannot provide new screenshots at this time, especially if the the conversation was on Skype or if the thread is viewable to only a few select people.
Am I speaking as a mindless drone or a minion? Just because I call myself CoconutFan on here, the answer is: No, it is not always possible to get tangible proof at this time. In a case like this, we all have to decide to take Coconut at her word and to make the choice of connecting that UK article with what Coconut has reported. My gut instinct says Coconut is telling the truth and has not lied to us once. And the main reason why I believe her is because I have reliable sources who had corroborated with what Coconut has reported in the past. No, I will not out them because I’d like to keep them under the radar. It’s called “protecting your sources”.
I guess I’m responding to you because your use of the word “minion” is offensive. Why are you so hostile? What’s with the attitude with Coconut and PMBD? What makes you think she’s lying, and who’s feeding you YOUR info? You don’t know us, and you haven’t even tried. You don’t even know those who’ve quietly investigated and reported TSR and THEIR “minions” to government authorities in more than one country (and yes, the UK is covered, which is another reason why this article is widely believed by those who are working on stuff like this in England). It’s not like people are going to brag about it and alert TSR about these activities. Only a moron would do something like that before taking action.
All I can say is: before you get hostile to people and judge them, try to see where they’re coming from first. And do your own homework and research to refute or back up Coconut’s claims. Not everyone believes people automatically; some of us are more skeptical than others, and when our trust is gained, it’s pretty damn hard to lose.
Comment by CoconutFan — May 7, 2011 @ 03:33
I went and checked to see if it was the FA that states she is disabled. It was, I am in the U.S and I am not sure how the U.K. handles their disability Insurance program. So, wouldn’t that be different from unemployment benefits? Like I said, don’t know the system, but it sounds like it is actually worse if she is stating she is unable to work due to her being disabled. Under the U.S. Social Security Disability Program, she is able to work and would lose her benefits and would have to pay back all the money. Is that what happened? If so, it’s people like her that makes it harder for people that really need their benefits, but are denied and made to wait years before finally being awarded with the benefits.
Comment by KLCarten — May 30, 2011 @ 15:30