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.
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
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The beds are consumed by moss instead of customers at this abandoned hotel .
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AIRPORT staff have been put on alert after diet pills that come in grenade shaped containers sparked security alerts .
INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .
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 .
YOU’VE heard of the northern lights now feast your eyes on the natural wonder of the SOUTHERN lights .
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ARMED with her camera, bikini and flippers, this brave diver goes swimming with SHARKS .
Splashing around in the water, a mother otter and her son are tangled in a family feud .
THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .