A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history. Thomas Scragg, 56, was jailed for a total of 17 years following three separate fraud convictions against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) ~ the latest, in March 2011, for stealing millions of pounds in employee PAYE tax. The conman from Solihull, West Mids. used his business Moya Payroll which managed staff wages of construction industry companies to steal over £26m in tax over a five year period between 2002 and 2007. Other investigations revealed a further £8m of stolen PAYE tax in a 10-month period from April 2007 to February 2008.His co-defendant, Paul Phillips from Derbyshire, was jailed for nine years.The latest conviction for offences in March 2011, followed a joint investigation by West Midlands Police and HMRC.The extent of Scragg's racket has remained a secret until now as cases against his two henchmen Carl Johnson, 49, and his brother Anthony, 51, from Wolverhampton progressed through court.
A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .
These uninvited guests ELEPHANTLY make their annual trip through the reception of this welcoming lodge .
A curious red squirrel takes a break from collecting nuts and tries her hand at photography .
DINING under the stars, this restaurant takes you back in time - inside an ancient cave .
A terrified moose, trapped in a frozen lake, bobs her head above the icey water and awaits her rescue .
An Australian beach is illuminated by an enticing neon blue glow as a rare phenomenon lights up the water .
Meet the human CCTV: a PCSO with a memory for faces so sharp he has apprehended more than 130 suspects in the last year alone with his eagle eyed talents .
When couples talk about wanting a white wedding, few will be referring to getting hitched on a glacier sat on top of an active volcano .
A cricket perches on an unusual seat after crawling up the snout of a crocodile .
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .