Taxpayers have been using sham businesses to fraudulently obtain GST refunds from the ATO, with over 57,000 participants involved in a $2 billion scandal. The ATO, in response, launched Operation Protego to track down perpetrators and stolen funds, resulting in numerous arrests and convictions, including individuals using fake cleaning and construction management companies as fronts to claim refunds.
Individuals like Adam Mitchell, Arec and Aman Akol, Tahra Wyntjes, Lisa McCormick, Joshua Mitchell, Wayne Garrett, Craig Hamilton, Linden Phillips, and others were caught using fake businesses to claim large amounts of GST refunds, resulting in jail sentences ranging from a few months to over seven years. The ATO has been cracking down on these fraudulent activities, with Operation Protego leading to numerous arrests and convictions, and the ATO has vowed to continue targeting GST cheats in the future.
The ATO has finalized numerous investigations and referred cases to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, resulting in convictions and sentences for those involved in fraudulent GST refund schemes. The ATO has warned that its work is not finished, with plans to target businesses engaged in more sophisticated scams in the future, using resources, data matching, analytics, and intelligence sharing to uncover financial crimes and ensure that those who defraud the tax system face the full force of the law.
