Brothers convicted of money laundering

Pair helped filter £34m

Two brothers from Wolverhampton have been found guilty of money laundering in one of the biggest fraud cases in British criminal history.

49-year old Carl Johnson and his 51-year old brother Anthony helped to clean up the cash for Thomas Scragg from Solihull.

The 56-year old conned UK tax officials out of £34 million between 2002 and 2008.

Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Edwards from West Midlands Police said: "This was an incredibly long and complex investigation using the combined specialist skills of officers from West Midlands Police, HMRC investigators, the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU), Regional Asset Recovery Team (RART) and CPS lawyers, who have worked extremely hard throughout the inquiry.

"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.

"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.

"I hope this sends out a very strong message that we will continue to work with other agencies to disrupt organised crime groups – no matter how long it takes – and that no-one should regard themselves as 'untouchable'.”

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