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.
STOLEN £2K BULLDOG REUNITED WITH FAMILY VIA TWITTER - A £2,000 bulldog puppy snatched from her home by burglars has been reunited with her family thanks to Twitter .
RACING through the mountain range on horseback, the Kazakh people practice their ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles .
This was the chaotic scene when the driver of a 4x4 vehicle became periously trapped under his vehicle for an HOUR when it overturned after a crash on a busy motorway .
AT 4,800 metres high and just three metres wide, this is the most dangerous road in the world .
LIKE SUPERMAN carrying a slimy Lois Lane through the air this frog is treating its mate to a flying lesson .
HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .
What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .
A BRITISH couple are the first to tie the knot inside an enormous GLACIER in Iceland .
NEW DELHI, A woman activist of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party crosses a police barricade near the residence of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi during a protest against the recent rape of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, India, April 21, 2013 .
WELCOME to the Temple of Zoom where you can “experience” sliding down a Mayan temple into shark infested waters .
