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Machine pays his dues!
Fighting 'Machine' cheated taxmam Published Date:
04 March 2009
A champion cage fighter who claimed to have no earnings while he made thousands in the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been spared jail.
Sunderland hardman Ian Freeman, dubbed "The Machine", travelled the world to fight in the brutal sport but hid his earnings from the taxman.
As a result the 41-year-old cheated the authorities out of more than £30,000 over a three-year period.
Freeman, formerly of Town End Farm, Sunderland, and his wife, Angela Freeman, 34, pleaded guilty to three fraud charges dating back to January 2003, June 2004 and July 2006 relating to tax credits they received by failing to declare his earnings.
Prosecutor Angela Wrottesley told Newcastle Crown Court: "Investigations conducted revealed he was in employment, involved in a wide variety of ventures which led to remuneration.
"Specifically, he is a mixed martial arts specialist who received paid contracts to demonstrate his skills and fights across the world and within the UK.
"Furthermore, the defendant makes regular appearances on television and had secured contracts to involve himself in TV productions within the course of the times of the indictment.
"In addition he has written a book and operates a business called Pride and Glory."
The court heard the charges relate to £12,352 Freeman and his wife, of Badger's Wood, Stanley, County Durham, were overpaid in tax credits by failing to declare his earnings.
Freeman also failed to declare his earnings to the taxman and therefore to pay income tax of £21,128 he would have been liable to.
He also admitted giving false salary details to obtain a £250,000 mortgage.
At the sentencing hearing yesterday Judge Brian Forster heard evidence of Freeman's community and charity work for terminally ill and underprivileged children.
David Scott told the court how Freeman has done charity work for his terminally ill son.
Freeman also presented a bundle of 90 written references to the court.
Judge Brian Forster sentenced Freeman to nine months imprisonment suspended for 12 months with an electronic curfew between 8.30pm and 5am for six weeks as well as 120 hours' unpaid work.
The judge said: "I have been very impressed by the large number of references and of the witnesses who have given evidence in this case."
Freeman's wife was sentenced to a community order with a similar curfew to her husband's, also for six weeks.
Freeman, who stared in Hollywood flick Sucker Punch, was crowned the World Champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2002 after defeating American Frank Mir.
He shot to fame through his 10-year career in cage fighting, where contestants are allowed to punch, kick, wrestle, knee and elbow each other into submission.
Freeman's book, A Cage Fighter: The True Story of Ian 'The Machine' Freeman, charts how he overcame childhood depression to became a fast-fisted fighter.
Since retiring from cage fighting, he has campaigned to improve its image in the UK.
As a result the 41-year-old cheated the authorities out of more than £30,000 over a three-year period.
Freeman, formerly of Town End Farm, Sunderland, and his wife, Angela Freeman, 34, pleaded guilty to three fraud charges dating back to January 2003, June 2004 and July 2006 relating to tax credits they received by failing to declare his earnings.
Prosecutor Angela Wrottesley told Newcastle Crown Court: "Investigations conducted revealed he was in employment, involved in a wide variety of ventures which led to remuneration.
"Specifically, he is a mixed martial arts specialist who received paid contracts to demonstrate his skills and fights across the world and within the UK.
"Furthermore, the defendant makes regular appearances on television and had secured contracts to involve himself in TV productions within the course of the times of the indictment.
"In addition he has written a book and operates a business called Pride and Glory."
The court heard the charges relate to £12,352 Freeman and his wife, of Badger's Wood, Stanley, County Durham, were overpaid in tax credits by failing to declare his earnings.
Freeman also failed to declare his earnings to the taxman and therefore to pay income tax of £21,128 he would have been liable to.
He also admitted giving false salary details to obtain a £250,000 mortgage.
At the sentencing hearing yesterday Judge Brian Forster heard evidence of Freeman's community and charity work for terminally ill and underprivileged children.
David Scott told the court how Freeman has done charity work for his terminally ill son.
Freeman also presented a bundle of 90 written references to the court.
Judge Brian Forster sentenced Freeman to nine months imprisonment suspended for 12 months with an electronic curfew between 8.30pm and 5am for six weeks as well as 120 hours' unpaid work.
The judge said: "I have been very impressed by the large number of references and of the witnesses who have given evidence in this case."
Freeman's wife was sentenced to a community order with a similar curfew to her husband's, also for six weeks.
Freeman, who stared in Hollywood flick Sucker Punch, was crowned the World Champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2002 after defeating American Frank Mir.
He shot to fame through his 10-year career in cage fighting, where contestants are allowed to punch, kick, wrestle, knee and elbow each other into submission.
Freeman's book, A Cage Fighter: The True Story of Ian 'The Machine' Freeman, charts how he overcame childhood depression to became a fast-fisted fighter.
Since retiring from cage fighting, he has campaigned to improve its image in the UK.
Last updated by Patrick Mooney Mar. 4, 2009.
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Man with genitals in pipe
A man who went to casualty with his penis stuck in a steel pipe had to be cut free by firefighters using a metal grinder.
Medics at Southampton General Hospital could not get the man's penis out of the stainless steel pipe because the restricted blood flow had caused it to become aroused, so they called in Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.
They turned up with a special equipment unit from St Mary's station in Southampton and seven firefighters to help in what a spokesman said was a "delicate operation". The firefighters used the four-and-a-half-inch grinder to cut the pipe from around the man's penis and it took about 30 minutes. The patient was given an anaesthetic and his penis was left bruised and swollen but otherwise unharmed. The anxious man, aged about 40, gave hospital staff no explanation about how the pipe got stuck after he turned up on Tuesday morning. A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "Initially the crew did not have the appropriate cutting equipment to free the man. "It was a very delicate operation that required a very steady hand and the crew was worried about things getting too hot during the cutting. "It's certainly an unusual call-out and I'm sure the man won't be getting into that situation again."
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