Siblings are found guilty of tax fraud scheme

Adam Michael Cranston, Lauren Anne Cranston, Dev Menon, Jason Cornell Onley, and Patrick Willmott were accused of participating in a $105 million tax fraud scheme, in which they spent millions on luxury properties, cars, and boats.

The Cranston siblings are the children of a former ATO deputy commissioner Michael Cranston, who was not accused of any wrongdoing. The trial lasted nine months before Justice Anthony Payne in the NSW Supreme Court. The jurors found Adam Cranston, Menon, and Onley guilty of both charges, while deliberations continued for Lauren Cranston and Willmott.

The Crown alleged that the accused conspired to not remit 100% of PAYG and GST to the ATO from clients of the payroll business Plutus Payroll, and siphoned $105 million between March 2014 and May 2017.

The Crown prosecutor Paul McGuire, SC, alleged Adam Cranston was a leading conspirator involved in establishing Plutus and controlling it after its purchase by his company Synep in 2016. To give Plutus a “squeaky clean” appearance, the tax debt was held by second-tier companies with vulnerable and drug-dependent people installed as straw directors.

Adam Cranston used Plutus money on luxury cars, a plane, a caravan, and properties. His barrister John Stratton, SC, submitted that the Plutus enterprise was “dreamed up by two skilled fraudsters”, who sold Plutus to Cranston and Onley to remove themselves from what they anticipated would be a disaster.

The Crown alleged that Dev Menon lied, coached others to lie, destroyed evidence, and recommended crucial witnesses “go away”. The Crown said Jason Onley was part of discussions about setting up Plutus, generated significant funds from the scheme, and made staff “who asked too many questions” redundant.

Patrick Willmott, a school friend of Adam Cranston, was allegedly involved from day one managing the inaugural second-tier company Keystone, which was left with a tax liability of $6 million. The Crown said Lauren Cranston’s role was “very different” and involved manual tasks such as processing payroll, allegedly not remitting the correct PAYG and GST to the ATO. Defence barrister Troy Anderson, SC, said his client was “doing her job” and believed she was paying sufficient tax, based on the instructions of Menon and her brother.