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.
BREATHING life back into old photographs, these black and white images are transformed by colour .
WITH their robotic movements and pristine uniforms, these are the sexy traffic girls of North Korea that are becoming iconic figures in the secretive state .
Throwing their arms up in the air, these energetic squirrels play a game of ball with a walnut .
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 .
A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state .
AN American accountant has grown the world's biggest MELON and smashed his way into the record books with his mammoth 350 .
SURROUNDED by a snowstorm, these young polar bears battle the elements - as well as each other .
BLOWING bubbles underwater, this adorable polar bear slides into his tank for a playful dip .
CONTRASTING settings reveal some of England’s most beautiful landscapes in all their glory .
With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .
An American black bear mimics John Travolta’s famous Saturday Night Fever dance move by hurling its arm in the air .
Peering curiously into a basket hanging off the arms of a snowman, this little squirrel appears fascinated by the snowy figure .