One conman was recently given a 17 year long prison sentence after being found guilty of fooling the taxman of £34 million over the course of six years.
A massive endeavour orchestrated by Thomas Scragg, a native of Hockley Heath, and assisted by auditors, accountants, and other co-conspirators, the conman found a way to siphon off stolen PAYE contributions through Mona Payroll, a business owned by Scragg and tasked with managing the staff wages of several companies operating in the construction sector.
Along with a pair of brothers that acted as henchmen, Anthony and Carl Johnson, the scheme permitted Scragg to live an opulent lifestyle, spending his ill-gotten gains on hotel stays, lavish meals, and bullet-proof windows on luxury cars such as Porsches, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis. The police were finally tipped off by neighbours of the two brothers – who offered their protection services to Scragg for £2.4 million – after their opulent lifestyle raised suspicions, with an investigation into all three finding them guilty of money laundering after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
There are ten additional men facing convictions for their involvement in Scragg’s scheme. Charges range from money laundering, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, and conspiracy to defraud Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.
While the Johnson brothers are set to be sentenced later this year at a forthcoming hearing, Scragg has already been languishing in prison since November of 2010. His 13 year sentence was recently extended by four additional years due to the severity of his crimes.
