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[bodyboarder]

Potentially biggest white collar crime in Australian history.

THE scale of an alleged $165 million tax fraud is “unprecedented” in Australia and could be the biggest white-collar crime the country has ever seen.
The deputy commissioner of the Australian Taxation Office, Michael Cranston, has been charged in relation to the scam, along with his 30-year-old son Adam Cranston.
Michael Cranston, a 35-year veteran of the ATO, has been issued with a court attendance notice to appear in Sydney’s Central Local Court on June 13 — the same court his son appeared via videolink from Surry Hills police station.
Adam Cranston’s 24-year-old sister Lauren Cranston is also facing charges. She is expected to appear in court next month on the same day as her father.

Australian Federal Police officers don’t believe Michael Cranston knew about his son’s alleged activities. “We are alleging that this is an organised syndicate involved in a significant conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth,” AFP deputy commissioner Leanne Close told reporters in Sydney.
“The scale of this alleged fraud is unprecedented for the AFP; the response from our members yesterday is a direct response to the level of offending that we have identified during this operation.”
She said $165 million was allegedly removed from the tax pool.
Nine people have been arrested over the alleged fraud investigation, involving the ATO and Australian Federal Police. The eight-month long investigation was codenamed Operation Elbrus.

It’s alleged the fraud involved a payroll company which would funnel wage payments through a second tier company, and then only pay the ATO a fraction of the income tax required.
The Daily Telegraph reports Adam Cranston was allegedly a “co-conspirator” in the scam, that was used to fund real estate and a celebrity lifestyle.
His luxurious lifestyle was made up of boats, prime real estate and an orange and blue Ford GT, which is estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Photos of the car, which was used in the couple’s wedding, were splashed across Facebook.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Adam Cranston is also the owner and manager of Synep Racing, a motorsports team that races luxury cars like Porsche.

http://www.news.com.au/finance/mone...f/news-story/73a95283ca1a69f89bb99a51fec1660a

 

[navii]

I just had to pay $2000 to the ATO because I don't have private health. And here we have fuckers working there balliiin it up.

Before I paid it I was thinking how do I know I really owe this? My accountant sent me an ato payment slip and poof I transfer the money and it's gone somewhere. I have no confidence or faith in the ATO. I really hope they make examples of these people.

 

[Zoggy]

Even other countries are corrupt. America isn't that bad.

Checkmate atheists

 

[m3k]

thanks for the thread... i havent really been watching local news lately

i want an example to be made but have little faith

 

[MarionCB]

It's such a simple and obvious scam too. I've been following this story with interest because I want to see how well this is investigated and ultimately enforced, as a litmus test to see how much integrity is in our tax collection system. I can understand bad actors seeping in; it's seeing them systematically rooted out and destroyed that is the vital part.

I have to wonder if this ATO deputy was inspired to do this by seeing countless business people get away with similar stuff.

 

[Usobuko]

Wealth trickling down as intended, to thy cocaine suppliers and hookers.

 

[shira]

From what I've seen of white collar crime at the highest level is that the sentences do not fit the damage done.

 

[dejay]

What a bunch of fucking morons. 2 year suspended sentence coming up...

Good times...

Not so good times....also, that Fosters fridge - should be locked up for a year just for that.

 

[MarionCB]

If he drinks Foster's he may not get away with this. Totally un-Australian.

 

[Subpar Scrub]

I'm sure my legal class will bring this up at some point this week. This will be interesting to follow, cheers for the thread.

If he drinks Foster's he may not get away with this. Totally un-Australian.

For a second there I didn't know what you were talking about, but then I saw it. How un-strayan can you get mate?

 

[bodyboarder]

The biggest crime, leaving the energy rating sticker on the fridge.

 

[Slayven]

You can always tell the people that lucked into a profitable scheme appose to the ones that craft one

 

[shira]

If he drinks Foster's he may not get away with this. Totally un-Australian.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

So apparently phone taps reveal the ATO deputy commissioner Michael Cranston warned his son in the weeks leading up to his arrest.

Police taped Mr Cranston in three phone calls on April 28 and May 2 and heard him telling his son ”you could be the subject of search warrants". The senior tax investigator warned his son that ATO investigators were good at their jobs, saying ”you think you get away with this stuff but you don't ... just make sure you haven't got anything anywhere".

And now we know Mr Cranston's daughter was also heavily involved:

Mr Cranston's 24-year-old daughter, Lauren, was also arrested during the raids this week. Excel spreadsheets allegedly maintained by her helped police map out one of the biggest white-collar frauds in Australian history.

Therefore the below snippet is highly unlikely:

The AFP has said it does not believe Michael Cranston knew about his son's alleged activities beyond the warnings he issued over the phone.

Source

 

[JaseC]

I just had to pay $2000 to the ATO because I don't have private health. And here we have fuckers working there balliiin it up.

I think eTax may have screwed me on my return last year. The auto-filled data had a duplicate entry for my employment that added ~$3k and it was the difference between me paying $200 and getting back $400 even though I only work part-time and brought in somewhere around $20k. At first I thought that the threshold for HECS repayments had been drastically lowered, but it's still a little under $56k.

The tax man, of course, eventually got in touch with me about the discrepancy between my tax return and "his" own data. I sent in my group certificate for the year via e-mail and received an SMS thanking me for "lodging [my] tax return" a few days later, which was the first and only time I have been contacted since, so I'm assuming the ATO realised the duplicate entry was an error.

 

[jellies_two]

For all the noise the ATO makes about picking up consumption that doesn't match income it is constantly amazing to me how long these people get away with such conspicuous flows of money (into houses cars and everything else) without getting flagged. The same thing has happened with corrupt councilers and politicians.

And evidently all the employees doing tax returns that would not reconcile, they must have received statements that show income of X which they duely lodged, and that should have flagged under-payment of pay as you go tax of Y. It isn't an insignificant amount of money too. A few individuals managed to control 165 million bucks before it all fell apart..

 

[Jintor]

lmao are they kidding, a payroll scam? I guess it was using the PAYG witholding? They must've known they'd get picked up inside a year or two right

 

[MrCookiepants]

One of these people is actually a relative of mine xD

 

[Dead Man]

One of these people is actually a relative of mine xD

Better make sure you didn't have prior knowledge too mate.

 

[Marky Mark]

Mr Cookie Pants was heard on tapes to be warning his cousin Mrs Biscuit Knickers that she shouldn't be diligently recording all of her illegal activity in a fucking Excel spreadsheet. Did it at least have conditional formatting?

 

[G.ZZZ]

165$ millions is like the equivalent of a life in prison for 10000 poor people if they got caught stealing, assuming an average of a 5k theft and 5 years sentencing for said theft.

But those people will make 2 years at most, if anything. And totally fair, because rich people have it hard already on this board.

 

[bodyboarder]

Documents tendered in court allege his father spoke to his son about conduct “in the past” in a May 2 phone call. “What you’ve got to remember, Adam, what you did in the past you got away with, right?,” Cranston Sr allegedly said. “You get away with it when nobody knows about it, right? You think you get away with it, but you don’t.”

The phone call did not ­detail the past activity Cranston Sr was referring to.

During the call, Cranston Sr allegedly said his son’s conduct “stinks” of phoenixing — the practice of deliberately closing companies to avoid tax. Cranston Sr, 58, led the Australian Taxation Office’s Phoenix Taskforce before he was stood down last week.

“It stinks of you’re in a phoenix operation,” he allegedly told his son.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...n/news-story/4fd4cf64646c5088f529f6cc5ce2d12a

 

[bodyboarder]

Deputy ATO commissioner Michael Cranston resigns following fraud charges

Deputy Australian Tax Office (ATO) commissioner Michael Cranston has resigned after being formally charged in connection with a $130 million fraud.

Mr Cranston is not alleged to have known about the fraud, but is accused of using his position to help his son Adam Cranston, who is being investigated over the matter.

The deputy commissioner was earlier suspended, but has now chosen to resign, effective immediately. He is facing two abuse of power charges.

Six of the 11 people charged in relation to the scheme — including Adam and Lauren Cranston — face a maximum of 10 years in prison if found guilty.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-...-michael-cranston-resigns/8614572?pfmredir=sm