$10m tax scandal lands 6 fraudsters with combined 43-year sentence
Six men have been slammed with a combined prison sentence spanning over four decades for their involvement in a $10 million tax fraud and money laundering operation.
A 43-year combined prison sentence was served to six people in Operation Bordelon which uncovered a tax and money laundering scandal worth up to $10 million.
According to the Australian Federal Police and the ATO, Operation Bordelon was a coordinated joint investigation of a serious organised criminal syndicate that had allegedly defrauded the Commonwealth.
In a joint statement last week, the bodies said the Commonwealth was taken advantage of by the syndicate through labour hire and payroll companies associated with the building and construction industry.
The investigation began in December 2018 and found the group of men ran a tiered structure of corporate entities that provided labour hire services, which received money to pay wages and taxes of workers.
It was found the syndicate siphoned off the money allocated for the pay-as-you-go withholding tax component instead of remitting it to the ATO. The syndicate members then moved the defrauded funds to companies they directed, relatives, associates and offshore accounts.
The AFP said after an 18-month joint investigation, search warrants were obtained for Queensland, NSW and the ACT which found more than $20 million worth of assets that remain before the court.
AFP detective superintendent Kristie-Lee Cressy said those who exploited and stole from the Commonwealth prevented potential investment of millions of dollars in essential services and infrastructure.
“The AFP understands the sole purpose of organised crime is to make money, and our best chance to inflict lasting damage on those seeking to accumulate significant wealth at the expense of the Australian community is to target their efforts to legitimise their proceeds of crime,” she said.
“Anyone who deliberately sets out to exploit and defraud the financial system is engaging in criminal behaviour. The AFP, through the SFCT, is dedicated to targeting offenders and bringing them to justice.”
Five of the men were found guilty before the court contrary to sections 11.5(1) and 135.4(3) of the Criminal Code, as well as one count of conspiring to deal with proceeds of crime over $1 million, contrary to sections 11.5(1) and 400.3(1) of the Criminal Code.
According to the joint statement, the sixth man pleaded guilty to one charge of aid, which caused a loss to the Commonwealth contrary to sections 11.2(1) and 13.5(5) of the Criminal Code.
The six middle-aged men were sentenced differently and served with differing parole periods, all of which added up to 43 years imprisonment between them. The imprisonment sentences were as follows;
· A 53-year-old man was served with nine years and three months and a non-parole period of six years and two months
· A 66-year-old man was served with eight years and a non-parole period of five years and six months
· A 62-year-old man was served with eight years and a non-parole period of five years and six months
· A 55-year-old man was served with eight years and six months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of six years
· A 67-year-old man was served with eight years and six months imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years
· A 51-year-old man was served with one year and six months imprisonment with a 10-month probationary period after being released on 5 August 2025.
ATO deputy commissioner and SFCT chief John Ford said he welcomed the sentence and commended the cross-agency work involved in the investigation.
“Illegal phoenix operators gain an unfair advantage by intentionally not meeting their financial, tax or superannuation obligations, disadvantaging honest businesses and the broader Australian community,” Ford said.
“This is a strong reminder to those involved in illegal phoenix activity – you will get caught. We will continue to chase phoenix operators despite their efforts to conceal activities and we will hold them to account.”
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