Photo: AFP
A Victorian woman has been jailed for three years for defrauding the Australian Tax Office of $452,000.
The woman, who was not identified by Australian Federal Police (AFP), was sentenced on Wednesday (November 20) to three years and six months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 20 months.
The AFP said she had also tried to swindle another $245,000 over 15 months.
The 44-year-old woman had pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud in Ballarat County Court in June 2024:
A joint AFP-ATO taskforce investigation began in January 2020 after the ATO linked her to several suspicious claims, including fake applications for GST refunds and JobKeeper grants related to a horse stud farm business.
The AFP said that over 15 months, she lodged 26 fake business activity statements for which GST refunds worth $423,479 were paid by the ATO into a family member’s bank account.
An ATO audit later found there was no business activity and no entitlement to the refunds.
The woman also lodged fake JobKeeper applications worth almost $700,000.
She was arrested by police at her home in Balliang, near Geelong, in January 2021, and charged.
The woman told AFP investigators the money was used to buy and feed horses, operate her separate business and lent to other individuals.
WARNING
AFP Superintendent Bernard Geason says the sentence should serve as a warning.
“The ATO-led (taskforce) is a joint partnership that allows us to leverage our combined forces and skills to identify and stamp out criminal behaviour,” Det Supt Geason said.
“Anyone who deliberately sets out to exploit the financial system is engaging in criminal behaviour. The AFP …. is dedicated to tracking down offenders and bringing you to justice.
“With so many Australians doing it tough, it is more important than ever that we seek out those who heap the burden of crime on the public.”
ATO Deputy Commissioner and Chief of the SFCT John Ford welcomed the sentence and the message that it sent.
