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Amid a multimillion-dollar tax fraud scheme, unaware federal police were listening in, Patrick Willmott asked his conspirators: “Will any of us go to jail?” That question proved prophetic.
The 36-year-old was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Friday to a maximum of nine years’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of six years, for his role in the scam.
Patrick Willmott leaving court during his trial.Credit: Oscar Colman
Willmott was found guilty by a jury in March of conspiring with others to dishonestly cause a loss to the Commonwealth and conspiring to deal with more than $1 million believing it to be the proceeds of crime.
He faced a marathon trial alongside solicitor Dev Menon, former professional snowboarder Jason Onley, and siblings Lauren Cranston and Adam Cranston – the children of former Tax Office deputy commissioner Michael Cranston, who is not accused of any wrongdoing.
The conspirators skimmed PAYG (pay as you go) withheld tax and GST out of money received from legitimate clients of payroll business Plutus Payroll. Subsidiary companies of Plutus held the tax debt to give Plutus a “squeaky clean” appearance.
Justice Anthony Payne found Willmott was “principally motivated by financial reward” and his personal gain totalled $498,000.
He said Willmott was involved in the transfer of $31 million to second-tier companies, representing about 30 per cent of the total $105 million misappropriated by the group.
Payne said Willmott demonstrated a willingness to be part of the fraud conspiracy and played a central role from April 2014, as the “effective chief managing officer” of the second-tier companies, using “CFO” [chief financial officer] at the bottom of emails.
The judge said these companies only paid a “tiny amount” of the tax that should have been paid under Willmott’s stewardship. He said inaugural second-tier company Keystone “only ever paid $110,000 in tax” but was left with a tax liability of $6 million including interest when liquidated.
Justice Anthony Payne sentencing Patrick Willmott in Sydney on Friday.Credit: Nine
Payne said Willmott’s involvement in the conspiracies spanned about two years, to May 2016. He was not satisfied Willmott’s conduct in early 2017 “formed part of the offending”.
The Australian Federal Police began investigating in September 2016 and covertly recorded conversations. In February 2017, Willmott asked his fellow conspirators, “Will any of us go to jail?”
Menon replied, “No.” Adam Cranston said, “Not if we band together, and then we won’t.”
The judge found Willmott had shown no contrition nor remorse.
He could not conclude that he had good prospects of rehabilitation, and was “troubled” that “even now, Mr Willmott does not acknowledge that any of his co-conspirators have done anything wrong”.
Payne said that nothing in a letter from Willmott to the court indicated he accepted crimes had been committed, and he “writes as though he’s a victim of conduct by others including the ATO [Australian Taxation Office]”.
Sentencing Lauren Cranston to a maximum eight years’ jail on Monday, the judge described Adam Cranston and Onley as principals and “architects of the scheme”, and Menon as a “significant participant in the conspiracies”.
The three men await sentencing on the same two charges as Willmott, which carry maximum penalties of 10 and 25 years’ imprisonment and/or fines of $108,000 and $270,000.
It was revealed in court on Thursday that the Commonwealth attorney-general decided to stop funding lawyers for Adam Cranston, who had been receiving legal aid since 2021 after his assets were seized and finances were frozen in 2017.
A spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s Department said Cranston was, until his conviction, provided with “extensive taxpayer-funded Commonwealth legal financial assistance” and directed questions to Legal Aid NSW, which has been contacted for comment. The case returns to court on Tuesday.
Willmott will first be eligible for parole in 2029.
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