£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED

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.

Other great stories
SMILING SHARKS

A lively lemon shark grins into the camera and showcases his impressive teeth .

BIKINI SWIM WITH JELLYFISH

A BIKINI swim with jellyfish sounds like the most painful past-time on the planet .

PURR-FECT TIGER CUBS GET THEIR HEALTH CHECKS

TRYING their best to wriggle away, three adorable tiger cubs receive their health checks at Chester Zoo .

VISOR FASHION FAIL

FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .

MAN AND TOY PIG SEARCH WORLD FOR MISSING CUDDLY COMPANION

An Australian explorer has travelled the globe with a toy pig, known as Travel Piggy, in search of a missing cuddly companion .

SOUTHERN CROSSED AURORA

YOU’VE heard of the northern lights now feast your eyes on the natural wonder of the SOUTHERN lights .

CLIMBERS TACKLE 200FT TOTEM POLE

TOWERING 65 metres into the sky, this terrifying accent is a dream for climbers .

CHEETAH HUNT

Hot on the heels of a little rabbit, this cheetah is on a mission to catch his prey .

MICROBES OR FLAMINGOS

FLAMINGOS from above look like the pink algae they eat .

SMALLEST HOUSE IN THE UK

WELCOME to the pretty 122-inch-tall red dwelling that lays claim to the title of the UK's smallest house .

BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH AR' KID

HOTSPOT MEDIA - BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH AR' KID: A POSTAL SORTER has perfected the art of time travel by delivering images that are from the past .

CHEEKY FROG HITCHES A RIDE ON A SNAIL

A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail .