On 12th December West Midland Police are to auction off a collection of high-profile sporting memorabilia and top-end goods following HMRC’s successful application of a proceeds of crime order against Thomas Scragg who was jailed last year for 17 years for his part in a complicated payroll tax fraud.
Scragg’s fraud was based on paying building workers ‘cash-in-hand’, without any deductions for tax being made. Also VAT for work carried out by the construction firms, many of which were also set up by Scragg, was not accounted for. A total 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.
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.
Items set to be sold in the auction include:
- A pair of Wayne Rooney’s boots
- A pair of Mohammed Ali’s shorts
- A 1963 Manchester United Cup Final shirt signed by Dennis Law, Bobby Charlton and George Best