Tax fraudster jailed for fraudulent business activity statements filed with ATO

Publisher
The Australian Federal Police
Date published
October 2025

Relevant impacts: Government Outcomes Impact, Financial Impact, Business Impact

A Melbourne man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for defrauding and attempting to defraud the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) of more than $250,000 in fraudulent business activity statements. The man lodged fraudulent business activity statements for 'handyman services' over a 6-month period and attempted to claim an additional $73,569 in GST refunds.

An Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigation began in December 2022, when the ATO flagged the requested refunds as potentially suspicious. The investigation formed part of the ATO and AFP's joint response to the systemic rorting of the GST refund system in 2022, Operation Protego. In addition to jail time, the man has been ordered to pay back $176,365 to the ATO.

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Related fraudster personas

The Fabricator

The Fabricator invents or produces something that is false to dishonestly gain personal benefits.
ICON 029: Fabricator persona

Related countermeasures

Collaborate with strategic partners

Collaborate with strategic partners such as other government entities, committees, working groups and taskforces. This allows you to share capability, information and intelligence and to prevent and disrupt fraud.

Declarations or acknowledgements

Use declarations or acknowledgments to both communicate and confirm that a person understands their obligations and the consequences for non-compliance. The declaration could be written or verbal, and should encourage compliance and deter fraud.

Clear and specific eligibility requirements

Clear eligibility requirements and only approve requests or claims that meet the criteria. This can include internal requests for staff access to systems or information.

Verify information

Verify any requests or claim information you receive with an independent and credible source.

Exception reporting

Establish exception reports to identify activities that are different from the standard, normal, or expected process and should be further investigated.

Fraud detection software

Fraud detection software programs automatically analyse data to detect what is different from what is standard, normal or expected and may indicate fraud or corruption.

Investigate fraud

 Investigate fraud in line with the Australian Government Investigation Standards (AGIS).

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