Bankrupt ex-winemaker Andrew Morton Garrett accused of $6 million tax fraud

He has been called many things in his colourful life — winemaker, bankrupt, narcissist, sex pest — but, according to court papers, Andrew Morton Garrett is the Six Million Dollar Man who sought to swindle the Australian Taxation Office.

Former winemaker Andrew Morton Garrett outside the Federal Court during one of his previous court cases.

• Andrew Garrett is a man of many faces:

• In 2006, a weeping bankrupt ...
• In 2007, a sex pest ...
• In 2009, a dishonest dealer in documents ...
• Also in 2009, a would-be sugar daddy ...
• In 2016, a rambling, misconceived litigant ...
• ... and, last week, an alleged fraudster.

He has been called many things in his colourful life — winemaker, bankrupt, narcissist, sex pest — but, according to court papers, Andrew Morton Garrett is the Six Million Dollar Man. The businessman who has repeatedly rebuilt himself from several “barely alive” companies — stronger, better, faster — now faces what may be his biggest-ever battle.

The Australian Taxation Office has accused Garrett of trying to fleece $6 million from its coffers through dishonest and deceptive behaviour. It claims Garrett, 61, of Hobart, pursued his goal not through bionic enhancement but by using his “urban winery” concept to flout GST rules.

Advertiser.com.au on May 4 revealed the bankrupt — who once claimed, on a sugar daddy website, he was “worth $10 million or more” — had been charged with criminal offending. Garrett, whose name still appears on the sparkling shiraz that made him famous, has yet to plead to one count of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception.

Garrett leaves his Adelaide Hills home in 2004 in his Maserati.

Prosecution documents, released by the Adelaide Magistrates Court this week, allege the offence took place on July 25, 2016. “Garrett attempted, by deception or dishonesty, to obtain a financial advantage — namely $6 million — from the Australian Taxation Office,” they allege.

They further allege Garrett exercised his “full control as trustee” of Oenoviva Australia/New Zealand Property Trust in his attempt to defraud the taxman. On its website, Oenoviva spruiks its concept of urban wineries where the “finest” blast-frozen grapes are turned into “premium wines” to be drunk on-site or in customers’ homes.

It is a business plan Garrett promoted in Adelaide some years ago, and he is currently shopping around in Hobart.

“Garrett lodged a business activity statement for the quarterly period of 1 April 2016 to 30 June 2016 which contained false information,” the papers allege. “It claimed input tax credit for GST in the amount of $6 million.”

According to the ATO website, business owners “can claim a credit for any GST included in the price of any goods and services” bought for their operation.

Owners must have a tax invoice for the goods, and they must be “used solely or partly for your business”. Wages and motor vehicles “priced above a certain limit” do not qualify for input tax credit.

Garrett — who continued to drive a $200,000 Maserati while he was going bankrupt, infuriating creditors — did not face court on the charge last week. Prosecutors said they could not prove a summons, issued to Garrett, had been served upon him and asked the case be adjourned until July.

The life and times of Andrew Garrett

■ Andrew Garrett made his fortune with Andrew Garrett Wines in the 1980s. Best known for his sparkling Shiraz.

■ Sold his wine business and naming rights in the mid-1990s.

■ Hit trouble in the early 2000s and declared bankrupt in September 2004, losing his sprawling 204ha estate the following year.

■ A chaotic few years of bizarre legal claims followed and Garrett was declared a vexatious litigant in 2006 after lodging numerous lawsuits.

■ Received a suspended 10-month jail sentence in 2007 for bail breaches and breaches of a restraining order taken out by a former lover.

■ Appears on the Sugardaddie.com website, exaggerating his financial worth, in 2009.

■ In and out of court again over the past decade, including being criticised by a Federal Court judge for “rambling” and convicted of managing a company while disqualified.

■ Has variously lived in Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Hobart.