A man who pocketed nearly half a million dollars through the Plutus Payroll tax fraud has been sentenced to a maximum of nine years in prison.
A judge today found Patrick Willmott, a school friend of one of the architects of the conspiracy, Adam Cranston, knowingly took part in deceiving the tax office for two years.
A lengthy trial in the NSW Supreme Court heard the Australian Tax Office (ATO) lost out on $105 million as a result of the fraud before it was shut down in 2017.
During Willmott's involvement, between April 2014 and May 2016, more than $31 million that should have gone to the tax office was instead diverted to the co-conspirators, and his own direct financial benefit was $498,272.
Addressing Willmott's prospects of rehabilitation, Justice Anthony Payne said he remained "troubled" the offender still did not appear to acknowledge the group had done anything wrong.
The judge said nothing in a letter he penned to the court, nor a report by a psychologist, indicated he accepted any crime was committed.
"The offender displays no remorse for anything he's done, rather writes as though he's a victim of conduct by others, including the Australian Tax Office, rather than a perpetrator of a serious crime," Justice Payne said.
"The offender does not appear to understand or accept the gross violation of societal norms involved in dishonestly taking over $30 million in taxes which should have been available to spend by government on behalf of the community."
The judge said that money must now be recouped by cuts to government services or increased taxes paid by other taxpayers, either now or in the future.
Willmott received a maximum sentence of nine years with a non-parole period of six years, which will expire in 2029.
He ran his hand through his hair and sat back on an audio-visual link from jail when told of the sentence.
He was found guilty of the same two charges as his four other co-conspirators: conspiring to cause a loss to the Commonwealth and conspiring to deal with the proceeds of crime.
Willmott acted as 'chief financial officer'
He was not involved in the initial planning of the scam, which involved setting up a company called Plutus Payroll to collect gross wages from legitimate clients.
But then, the conspirators used a web of second-tier companies to siphon off enormous amounts that should have gone to the tax office as GST and Pay As You Go (PAYG) tax.
The court heard Willmott's role was to act as "chief financial officer" of several of the second-tier companies, which had vulnerable people such as drug addicts installed as directors.
The judge found he demonstrated a willingness to be part of the tax fraud conspiracy from April 2014 and the success of the scam was dependent on his work.
The conspiracy involved a significant level of sophistication, premeditation, planning, and deception, Justice Payne said.
Willmott is one of five people who all unsuccessfully fought their two charges at the trial, including siblings Adam and Lauren Cranston, lawyer Dev Menon and ex-pro snowboarder Jason Onley.
The judge found Willmott's role was higher on the hierarchy than that of Lauren Cranston, who was on Monday handed a maximum sentence of eight years with a non-parole period of five.
The remaining co-conspirators are yet to be sentenced.
