Man jailed for 17 years for £34m tax frauds
Thomas Scragg, 56, of Hockley Heath, West Midlands, was handed the prison sentence after being convicted of three fraud offences against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
The latest, in March last year, was for stealing millions of pounds in employee PAYE tax, following a joint investigation by West Midlands Police and HMRC.
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Hide AdThe extent of Scragg’s racket has remained a secret until now, as cases against his two co-defendants – Carl and Anthony Johnson, from Wolverhampton – progressed through court, West Midlands Police said.
But the brothers’ convictions yesterday for money-laundering has lifted reporting restrictions on his criminal empire.
Scragg used his business, Moya Payroll, which managed staff wages of construction industry companies, to steal over £26m in tax between 2002 and 2007.
His co-defendant, Paul Phillips, 60, of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, was jailed for nine years.
A further police investigation uncovered £8m of stolen PAYE tax in a ten-month period from April 2007 to February 2008.