A Perth man has been sentenced to two years in jail, after dodgy tax dealings conducted in his name were referred to prosecutors by the Australian Taxation Office.
A Perth man has been sentenced to two years in jail, after dodgy tax dealings conducted in his name were referred to prosecutors by the Australian Taxation Office.
The man will serve six months of a two-year sentence after he was found to have dealt with the proceeds of crime obtained through GST fraud.
In a statement released today, the ATO said Lee Sheridan was found to have provided his personal details to another person, who subsequently used them to make fraudulent GST claims with the ATO.
Seven original and 24 revised business activity statements were subsequently lodged with the ATO, fraudulently claiming GST refunds worth $377,820 paid into Sheridan’s bank account.
The payments were found to be the proceeds of crime. Some of the money was paid to the person who lodged the fraudulent BAS.
The ATO referred the matter to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, leading to charges and the subsequent sentence.
ATO deputy commissioner John Ford said GST fraud was a serious matter
“If you choose to engage in GST fraud, you are actively taking away funds that could be used on services that benefit the community such as healthcare, infrastructure and education,” he said.
“We have already warned Australians against becoming involved in GST fraud.
“This outcome demonstrates that those who engage in GST fraud will be prosecuted with the full force of the law.”
The case against Sheridan was part of the ATO’s Operation Protego, through which more than 57,000 alleged offenders have faced action from the ATO.
As of August 31, 104 people had been arrested and 53 convicted under Operation Protego, receiving jail terms of up to seven years.
The ATO has finalised 60 investigations and referred 51 briefs to the public prosecutions office for follow up.
Operation Protego focuses on those who have invented fake businesses, lodged fraudulent ABN applications, or submitted false business activity statements to claim tax refunds.
The ATO launched the operation in 2022, after detecting a significant increase in the number of attempts to obtain false GST refunds in 2021-22.
