£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
GRAND PRIX-INSPIRED ESPRESSO MACHINE

This may look like a monster car engine that will leave petrol heads in a spin, but it is in fact a rather snazzy looking COFFEE MACHINE .

FROG FRIENDS

PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .

TOY CAR ADVENTURES

These images of vintage cars, bikes and vans, pictured all over the world, could easily have come from a globetrotting petrol-head’s photo album .

STUNNING SUMATRAN TIGER CAUSES A SPLASH

BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .

THE END OF THE WORLD CINEMA

SITTING in the middle of a vast desert, an abandoned cinema is still waiting for its first movie to be screened .

SMILEY GECKO POSES FOR THE CAMERA

WITH A wide smile plastered across his face, this little gecko is ready for his close up .

PEEK-A-BOO FISH: BRIT SNAPPER MAKES RARE FIND

A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .

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 .

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .

BABY WORKOUT

FROM a Kung-Fu professional to a mini incredible hulk, these are the babies you wouldn't want to mess with .

BATTY ABOUT BATMAN - MAN SPENDS £65K ON COLLECTION

Kevin Silva, 52 from Indiana in the USA, has spent an estimated £65K ($100K) on Batman trinkets over the years, and even keeps his 2,500-item haul in his very own basement 'Bat Cave' .

BACK TO BASICS HOTEL

CAMPED out in the middle of a forest, these unusual hut hotels take you back to basics .