Melbourne businessman jailed by Supreme Court for $9 million GST fraud

A Melbourne man has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years by the Victorian Supreme Court after it was found he defrauded the Australian Taxation Office of more than $9 million by lodging fake GST refund claims.

The ruling comes after the Government announced earlier this year it would deliver more funds for the ATO to continue cracking down on GST.

Justice Osborn said in his ruling Andrew Bromley had engaged in “grossly self-indulgent behaviour” and that he must serve a minimum of five years before he can be paroled.

Bromley was found to have lodged fake GST refund claims between October 2001 and June 2008. These were made in the names of three separate companies, with 151 payments made, worth $9.4 million

Osborn said in his judgement Bromley received up to $195,000 every month from the ATO between September 2003 and March 2008.

He also noted the offenses were associated with the collapse of a Melbourne restaurant, which left Bromley with a debt of $600,000.

“You set about renovating the restaurant but struggled to manage the finances of the business. In the course of this struggle your business partner left, leaving a debt of some $600,000 with the restaurant only half renovated. You became increasingly desperate,” Osborn noted.

It was also pointed out Bromley had a history of gambling, but only 15% of the stolen monies had been linked to these activities. “The extent to which it was fuelled by compulsive gambling is unclear,” he said.

Bromley will serve a minimum of five years, but would have served 10 if he hadn’t pled guilty to the charges.

“You now have little in the way of assets and I note that enquiries by the Crown indicate that you have travelled out of Australia on 50 occasions since your offending commenced in October 2001. It appears that you have engaged in grossly self-indulgent behaviour. Your counsel acknowledged that you adopted a dissolute lifestyle.”

“I also take the view that the brazen quality of your offending demonstrates very substantial naivety and a failure to think consequentially,” Bromley noted.

The amount noted in the ruling makes this case one of the largest GST fraud cases. It comes after the Government announced earlier this year the ATO will receive an extra $445 million over four years to crack down on GST compliance and the cash economy.