A BUSINESSMAN jailed for his role in a £4.2 million tax fraud was not given an unfair sentence, top judges have ruled.

Last July Michael Maguire, of Bentley Meadow, Walshaw, was jailed for five years and nine months at Birmingham Crown Court for his part in a sophisticated tax and money laundering scam.

The 44-year-old was convicted of two counts of plotting to cheat the revenue, and two of conspiracy to launder money.

Maguire was part of a far-flung network of 17 men and three women who were involved in siphoning off cash which should have gone to the taxman.

The scammers worked within the construction industry in the Midlands and around Manchester, setting out to cheat HM Revenue and Customs out of around £4.2 million over two years.

Today, the Court of Appeal in London heard how Maguire was “closely involved in running the fraud” over several months and was involved in causing losses of £1.8 million.

The con worked by conspirators “diverting” cash from the taxman which should have covered VAT and national insurance bills, Lord Justice McCombe said.

Maguire was in the Appeal Court to challenge his punishment, claiming it was far too tough, with his legal team arguing the judge had applied the wrong sentencing guidelines.

But Lord Justice McCombe said the judge was “in the best possible position” to assess Maguire's role and level of his criminality.

Dismissing the appeal, he concluded: “He has no realistic prospect of persuading this court that the judge's assessment was wrong.”

The 20-strong gang were jailed for a combined total of almost 90 years after three separate trials in July last year, December 2013 and September 2013.