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Tax fraud wins gambler 10 years By Daniella Miletic Court Reporter August 9, 2005 A gambling addiction, blind ambition and a desire to flaunt his riches led Keith Jonathan Fernandez to play a central role in one of the biggest stamp duty frauds in Victorian history — a role for which he was sentenced to at least seven years jail yesterday. County Court judge Leo Hart sentenced the accountant, 36, who failed to pass on $10.1 million in tax to the State Revenue Office, to 10 years' jail with a non-parole period of seven. Fernandez, a former director of now-liquidated TQM Legal and Accounting, stole the money from February 1998 to November 2000. Through the company, which serviced the legal profession and conveyancing industry, Fernandez collected more than $15 million in duty but declared only $5 million to the State Revenue Office. He poured the stolen money into offshore betting accounts, with $3.1 million paid in 38 cheques to Dialabet, a Vanuatu-based phone betting service. He also gambled more than $500,000 at the Crown casino, losing almost half that amount. Fernandez, the founder of the now-defunct racing syndicate the Benachie Group, also spent more than $1 million on harness-racing horses and associated expenses. On one occasion, he bet $150,000 on a Melbourne-Essendon football game. Fernandez had pleaded guilty to 30 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception. His lawyer, Mark Taft, told a previous hearing that Fernandez became entangled in a "gambling morass". "Like so many gamblers, he always believed he could win the big one," he said. Mr. Taft told the court his client was motivated by a desire to impress those he knew with money. There was an "appalling lack of supervision", Mr. Taft said, and a simple audit would have uncovered the fraud. Another TQM employee, Michael John Kelly, of Cranbourne, last year received a suspended sentence for his role in the fraud. Kelly stole more than $600,000 in state taxes. The scam was uncovered when an anonymous letter was sent to the State Revenue Office, prompting an audit. http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/tax-fraud-wins-gambler-10-years/2005/08/08/1123353265451.html
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September 14, 2006 Copyright© 2005 Colin M. Cody, CPA and ProfessionalGamblerStatus.com, LLC, All Rights Reserved |