Police are to auction off a collection of high-profile sporting memorabilia and top-end goods, valued at £675k - bought by a criminal with the proceeds of a £34m tax fraud.
The auction follows HMRC's successful application of a proceeds of crime order against Thomas Scragg who was jailed last year for his part in a complicated payroll tax fraud.
Scragg - who was the subject of a lengthy and complex investigation called Operation Digit by HMRC and the West Midlands Police - received a 17-year jail sentence for masterminding a complex fraud and money laundering operation which centred on his business Moya Payroll which managed wages of construction firm staff.
Scragg's fraud was based on paying building workers 'cash-in-hand', without deductions for tax being made, while VAT for work carried out by the construction firms, many of which were also set up by Scragg, also went unaccounted.
The cash was laundered through a layer of fraudulent 'payroll companies'. The Operation Digit investigation resulted in the discovery of £26m in tax which was defrauded in this way from 2002 to 2007, plus a further £8m of PAYE tax evaded in a 10-month period from April 2007 to February 2008.
At his trial Scragg, of Wolverhampton, admitted blowing some £14m on a 'champagne lifestyle' at top hotels and restaurants. He also spent his gains on luxury goods, cars and items used or signed by sporting heroes, including the boots worn by footballer Wayne Rooney in the 2007 FA Cup Final and a signed pair of shorts from boxing star Muhammad Ali.
West Midlands Police have held Scragg's collection in storage since 2008 but will now auction the goods at Wilsons in Birmingham on 12 December. Any money raised will go to local good causes.
Other items on offer on the day will include a signed Maradona football shirt, a Manchester United shirt from the 1963 FA Cup Final signed by club legends Dennis Law, Bobby Charlton and the late George Best, as well as diamond jewellery which Scragg gave to his girlfriend, designer handbags and dozens of expensive watches.
Detective Sergeant Derek Tinsley, from the Regional Asset Recovery Team (RART), said: 'Tommy Scragg thought he had everything, the money, the lifestyle and the celebrity friends, but he lost it all when the law finally caught up with him. It's our job to ensure Scragg never gets to reap the rewards of ripping-off the taxpayer and that the public are compensated for his crimes, which is why, when he was convicted, we seized all of his assets which we've now been given permission to sell off.'
A full list of what is on offer is available on the auction house website HERE
