The charges follow a series of dawn raids in 2009 by HM Revenue & Customs officers as they investigated a fraud ring across the West Midlands, Staffordshire, London and Manchester
The 16 – 13 men and three women – appeared at Birmingham Magistrates Court today.
The “missing trader” fraud involved a sophisticated network of bogus companies which claimed to subcontract work and labour but disappeared before paying taxes.
Adrian Farley, Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation for HMRC, said: “Today sixteen people have been charged linked to what we believe is a fraud resulting in over £6 million being stolen from public funds.