A man who pretended to be running a business to get his hands on fraudulent GST refunds has been sentenced to three years in jail.
◼️ Between October 2014 and January 2018, the man lodged 14 quarterly business activity statements (BAS) in relation to his sole trader business.
◼️ He claimed the business had made more than $300,000 in sales and claimed $256,955 in GST credits.
However, according to bank records, he didn’t receive any income from the business. There was also insufficient cash flow to support the purchases he reported.
The man later admitted the claims were false; he hadn’t been carrying on a business.
In total, he obtained $189,270 in fraudulent GST refunds.
He also attempted to obtain an additional $39,778, but this was stopped by ATO officers.
The man pleaded guilty to:
🔸 13 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception; and
🔸 one count of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception.
In addition to his jail term, he was ordered to pay back $187,486.
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