By . Andy Dolan . PUBLISHED: . 11:44 EST, 9 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:00 EST, 31 August 2012 . Crooked conman: Thomas Scragg, 56, used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and his henchmen . A businessman has been given one of the longest sentences for fraud in British criminal history after masterminding a £34million tax scam. Thomas Scragg was jailed for 17 years after a court heard he laundered millions of pounds to fund a luxury lifestyle. Police began investigating his criminal empire six years ago when they were tipped off that his henchmen, Carl and Anthony Johnson, were living as millionaires without obvious means of income. Officers discovered the brothers, who had a string of convictions for witness intimidation and violence, were providing ‘protection services’ to Scragg. Investigations found he paid them £2.4million from a payroll fraud that had already come to the attention of HM Revenue and Customs. They splashed out on luxury hotels, exclusive restaurants and various high-performance sports cars, including a Lamborghini Murcielago, Bentley Continental, Porsche Cayenne and Ferrari Spider. The brothers, to be sentenced at a later date, also kitted out their homes with state-of-the art security equipment. Carl had bulletproof glass put in his home, while Anthony rebuilt his house with a cinema room, stables and dog kennels. They were only caught after neighbours, who became suspicious over their new-found wealth, went to police upon hearing them boasting, 'crime does pay', police said. The racket saw Scragg, 56, use his business Moya Payroll, which managed the wages of construction firm staff, to siphon off £26million in tax from 2002 to 2007. Workers would be paid in cash without deductions for tax being made, while VAT for work carried out by the construction firms – many of which were set up by Scragg – also went unaccounted. West Midlands Police then uncovered an additional £8million of stolen PAYE tax over a ten-month period from April 2007. Scragg, 56, from Hockley Heath, West Midlands, was jailed for 13 years in November 2010 and was given a further four years in March 2011 – the second longest sentence ever received in Britain for a white-collar crime. His co-defendant, 60-year-old Paul Phillips from Ashbourne, Derbyshire, was jailed for nine years for his part in the set-up. Scroll down for video . The extent of Scragg's racket has remained a . secret until brothers Carl, left, and Anthony Johnson, right, were . finally convicted today for laundering their paymaster's ill-gotten . gains. They will be sentenced at a later date . Thick as thieves: Thomas Scragg, left, Carl Johnson, right, and Carl's brother Anthony, enjoyed a champagne lifestyle at the expense of the taxpayer. in total he paid them around £2.4 million in return for their 'protection' Reporting restrictions were lifted only yesterday following the convictions of the Johnson brothers for money laundering. Carl, 49, and his 51-year-old brother, from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, claimed their wealth came from running a security firm. But it paid nothing in tax. The verdicts at Birmingham Crown Court were the last of 11 convictions related to the scam. Mark Harris, Mark Kenny and Sital . Sheamar were all charged with conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to . pervert the course of justice and money laundering after they illegally . tried to release the equity in Scragg’s fraudulent company. All three were jailed in March this year. Harris for 18 months, Kenny, who was convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, for 13 months and Sheamar for three and a half years. Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Edwards . from West Midlands Police said: 'This was fraud and money laundering on a . massive scale; it deprived the public purse of millions of pounds and . Scragg’s audacity is shown by the fact he continued the fraud in various . guises even after he knew he was being investigated. Flash: Luxury items found by police at the homes of the Johnson Brothers including Cash, diamond Rolexes . Quad bike at the Johnsons': They have now had their finances frozen and assets are subject of a confiscation order . High performance: A Lamborghini Murcielagos belonging to Carl Johnson was one of the many luxuries the crooks enjoyed thanks to their ill-gotten gains . Home of the Johnson brothers: They splashed out on luxury hotels, exclusive restaurants and various high-performance sports cars, including a Lamborghini Murcielago and Bentley Continental . Luxury: The brothers also kitted out their homes with state-of-the art security equipment; Carl had bulletproof glass put in his home, while Anthony rebuilt his house with a cinema room, stables and dog kennels . 'A number of my officers have devoted the last five-and-a-half years to bringing these men to justice and I’m pleased that we can now tell the world about the extent of their crimes for the first time. 'Carl and Anthony Johnson flaunted their wealth for the local Wolverhampton community to see - which is what ultimately led to their downfall. It was the law-abiding citizens of the city who came to us demanding answers about how the Johnsons were increasing their wealth. 'They were once heard to joke ‘crime does pay’, they now have plenty of time behind bars to reconsider this opinion.' The six other men involved in Scragg's scams were all jailed for between two and a half and six years. They were: .
Thomas Scragg, 56, used his payroll business to steal over £26 million in PAYE tax between 2002 and 2007 .
Police later found £8 million of stolen tax between 2007 and 2008 .
He used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and his henchmen, brothers Carl and Anthony Johnson, 49 and 51 .
In total he paid the brothers around £2.4 million in return for 'protection'
They bought a Lamborghini Murcielago, Bentley Continental, Porsche Cayenne and Ferrari Spider .
Neighbours called police after hearing brothers boast: 'Crime DOES pay'
David Wilson-Gill, 40, of Ormskirk, Lancashire, found guilty of conspiracy to cheat HMRC and sentenced to four years in prison.
Andrew Savin, 47, of Yardley, Birmingham, found guilty of conspiracy to cheat HMRC and sentenced to five years in prison.
Alfred .
Namutulo, 59, of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, found guilty of .
conspiracy to cheat HMRC and sentenced to six years in prison.
George White, 64, of Rashwood, Droitwich, found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
Bruce Hartle, 54, of Great Barr, found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
Steven .
Oakley, 56, of Little Wratting, Haverhill, Suffolk, pleaded guilty to .
conspiracy to cheat HMRC and was given a suspended sentence.
By . Andy Dolan . PUBLISHED: . 11:44 EST, 9 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:00 EST, 31 August 2012 . Crooked conman: Thomas Scragg, 56, used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and his henchmen . A businessman has been given one of the longest sentences for fraud in British criminal history after masterminding a £34million tax scam. Thomas Scragg was jailed for 17 years after a court heard he laundered millions of pounds to fund a luxury lifestyle. Police began investigating his criminal empire six years ago when they were tipped off that his henchmen, Carl and Anthony Johnson, were living as millionaires without obvious means of income. Officers discovered the brothers, who had a string of convictions for witness intimidation and violence, were providing ‘protection services’ to Scragg. Investigations found he paid them £2.4million from a payroll fraud that had already come to the attention of HM Revenue and Customs. They splashed out on luxury hotels, exclusive restaurants and various high-performance sports cars, including a Lamborghini Murcielago, Bentley Continental, Porsche Cayenne and Ferrari Spider. The brothers, to be sentenced at a later date, also kitted out their homes with state-of-the art security equipment. Carl had bulletproof glass put in his home, while Anthony rebuilt his house with a cinema room, stables and dog kennels. They were only caught after neighbours, who became suspicious over their new-found wealth, went to police upon hearing them boasting, 'crime does pay', police said. The racket saw Scragg, 56, use his business Moya Payroll, which managed the wages of construction firm staff, to siphon off £26million in tax from 2002 to 2007. Workers would be paid in cash without deductions for tax being made, while VAT for work carried out by the construction firms – many of which were set up by Scragg – also went unaccounted. West Midlands Police then uncovered an additional £8million of stolen PAYE tax over a ten-month period from April 2007. Scragg, 56, from Hockley Heath, West Midlands, was jailed for 13 years in November 2010 and was given a further four years in March 2011 – the second longest sentence ever received in Britain for a white-collar crime. His co-defendant, 60-year-old Paul Phillips from Ashbourne, Derbyshire, was jailed for nine years for his part in the set-up. Scroll down for video . The extent of Scragg's racket has remained a . secret until brothers Carl, left, and Anthony Johnson, right, were . finally convicted today for laundering their paymaster's ill-gotten . gains. They will be sentenced at a later date . Thick as thieves: Thomas Scragg, left, Carl Johnson, right, and Carl's brother Anthony, enjoyed a champagne lifestyle at the expense of the taxpayer. in total he paid them around £2.4 million in return for their 'protection' Reporting restrictions were lifted only yesterday following the convictions of the Johnson brothers for money laundering. Carl, 49, and his 51-year-old brother, from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, claimed their wealth came from running a security firm. But it paid nothing in tax. The verdicts at Birmingham Crown Court were the last of 11 convictions related to the scam. Mark Harris, Mark Kenny and Sital . Sheamar were all charged with conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to . pervert the course of justice and money laundering after they illegally . tried to release the equity in Scragg’s fraudulent company. All three were jailed in March this year. Harris for 18 months, Kenny, who was convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, for 13 months and Sheamar for three and a half years. Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Edwards . from West Midlands Police said: 'This was fraud and money laundering on a . massive scale; it deprived the public purse of millions of pounds and . Scragg’s audacity is shown by the fact he continued the fraud in various . guises even after he knew he was being investigated. Flash: Luxury items found by police at the homes of the Johnson Brothers including Cash, diamond Rolexes . Quad bike at the Johnsons': They have now had their finances frozen and assets are subject of a confiscation order . High performance: A Lamborghini Murcielagos belonging to Carl Johnson was one of the many luxuries the crooks enjoyed thanks to their ill-gotten gains . Home of the Johnson brothers: They splashed out on luxury hotels, exclusive restaurants and various high-performance sports cars, including a Lamborghini Murcielago and Bentley Continental . Luxury: The brothers also kitted out their homes with state-of-the art security equipment; Carl had bulletproof glass put in his home, while Anthony rebuilt his house with a cinema room, stables and dog kennels . 'A number of my officers have devoted the last five-and-a-half years to bringing these men to justice and I’m pleased that we can now tell the world about the extent of their crimes for the first time. 'Carl and Anthony Johnson flaunted their wealth for the local Wolverhampton community to see - which is what ultimately led to their downfall. It was the law-abiding citizens of the city who came to us demanding answers about how the Johnsons were increasing their wealth. 'They were once heard to joke ‘crime does pay’, they now have plenty of time behind bars to reconsider this opinion.' The six other men involved in Scragg's scams were all jailed for between two and a half and six years. They were: .
Crooked conman: Thomas Scragg, 56, used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and his Scragg. Investigations found he paid them cars, including a Lamborghini Murcielago, Bentley Continental, Porsche Cayenne and Ferrari Spider. The brothers, to be sentenced at a later date, £26million in tax from 2002 to 2007. Workers stolen PAYE tax over a ten-month period from 2010 and was given a further four years in March the taxpayer. in total he paid them around £2.4 million in return for their 'protection' for money laundering. Carl, 49, and his convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of Edwards . from West Midlands Police said: 'This Lamborghini Murcielago and Bentley Continental . and Anthony Johnson flaunted their wealth for the jailed for between two and a half and six years. They were: .