Man jailed for record 17 years for £34m tax fraud

A man who stole £34m in PAYE employee tax has been jailed for 17 years – one of the longest fraud sentences in British criminal history.

Thomas Scragg, of Hockley Heath, West Midlands, was convicted of three separate fraud charges at Birmingham Crown Court. He used his business, Moya Payroll, which managed staff wages from construction companies, to commit the fraud.

Reporting restrictions were lifted after Carl and Anthony Johnson, from Wolverhampton, were convicted of laundering money for Scragg.