Record-breaking $2bn fraud scheme uncovered as 105 Aussies convicted in TikTok-fuelled scam

More than 100 people have been convicted over a record $2 billion fraud spree that took off on TikTok. See the list.

EXCLUSIVE: More than 100 people have been convicted over a record $2 billion fraud spree that took off on TikTok.

This masthead can reveal the latest sentences include a young Queensland woman being pinged for creating a fictitious nail business, then lodging $50,000 worth of fake GST refund claims.

And authorities say they are far from done, with a further 18 people charged in a recent blitz.

Prison terms of up to seven and a half years have been dished out to those caught swindling the system.

But only $160 million of the ill-gotten gains has been recouped, leaving the public about $1.8bn out of pocket in the largest scam of its type in Australia’s history.

“It was an extraordinary amount of money and extraordinary fraud perpetrated by many, many people,” Queensland District Court Judge Tracy Fantin said in Cairns recently as she sentenced rorter Jasmine Jewell Krause to three years’ jail with a non-parole period of 12 months.

With the ATO’s help, Queensland Police also recently charged 18 people with 223 GST fraud offences. Picture: iStock

Another Queensland District Court judge, Nicole Kefford, summed up the impact of the ruse recently in sentencing a welfare-dependent young mother Jessica Pakatyilla, who lied to obtain $50,000: “Your offending conduct puts at risk the very assistance that the federal government gives to people like you ... it also puts at risk the members of the community receiving other important services paid for by … taxes,” Judge Kefford said.

Today this masthead publishes a rogues’ gallery of GST fraud offenders from around the country, including Pakatyilla.

The scam took off in late 2021, fanned by sharing on social media.

“The scale and speed at which individuals became involved, particularly through the promotion on … TikTok, Facebook and other platforms, was previously unheard of,” Sydney-based Australian Taxation Office assistant commissioner Jade Hawkins told this masthead.

Courts have been told that perpetrators not only discovered the scam on TikTok but learned specifically what to do from the social platform.

In some cases, the rort was allegedly taught by members of outlaw gangs.

For example, a group of up to 40 which included people with prior criminal histories was investigated for allegedly fleecing a collective $6m.

The platform was also used to recruit people who were willing to pose as new business owners in return for a cut of the loot, or prepared to grant access to their myGov account so that fake claims could be lodged.

ABNs were obtained for fictitious enterprises. Then bogus Business Activity Statements (BAS) were submitted seeking refunds for GST on purchases they hadn’t made.

Banks were seeing unexpectedly large sums dropping into accounts in 2021.

But authorities hadn’t twigged and tax refund claims continued to be paid.

The largest sum received was $2.4m, by an unemployed welfare recipient from Victoria, Kristopher Andree-Jansz, who is in the rogues’ gallery.

In April 2022, the ATO and law enforcement agencies formed Operation Protego to crack down on the rort.

Ms Hawkins denied the Tax Office was slow off the mark.

“The ATO stopped it quickly,” Ms Hawkins said. “By mid-2023, the fraud had been contained and treatment was applied against 57,000 individuals.”

“Treatment” involved bank account garnishing and confiscation of assets.

A further $2.7bn worth of claims were blocked.

Assistant commissioner Jade Hawkins. Picture: ATO

Ms Hawkins said ATO systems have been changed to avoid a repeat. And the federal government has provided $187m of extra funding to improve the Tax Office’s ability to detect and prevent fraud.

So far 105 people have been convicted.

“There’s more to come – these convictions are not the end of the story,” Ms Hawkins said.

The total has grown by three this month.

Queensland’s Gregory Pimm, who lodged 37 BAS for a fake road freight transport business to obtain $165,000 was sentenced to two years and six months in jail, with a minimum term of six months.

Another Queenslander, Skye Hoek, was imprisoned for three months for fleecing the system of $25,000; her friend Tiarn Nutley – who scammed $50,000 – was sentenced to nine months’ jail but released immediately on a recognisance order. She created a fictitious nail business as a front for fake GST refunds.

With the ATO’s help, Queensland Police also recently charged 18 people with 223 GST fraud offences. Collectively, they are alleged to have obtained more than $2m.

ROGUES GALLERY

Kistopher Andree-Jansz.

Name: Kristopher Andree-Jansz

Age: 44

Location: Wodonga, Victoria

Charges: Two counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and two of attempting to obtain financial advantage by deception

Amount fleeced: $2.4m

Sentence: Four years and seven months with a non-parole period of two years and nine months

The total claim made by Kristopher Andree-Jansz is believed to be the largest in the GST refund scam.

The unemployed welfare recipient lodged 28 claims over 10 months to January 2022.

“The total amount you obtained was very substantial,” Victorian County Court judge Simon Moglia said in sentencing last month.

“You were the person making the claims, involving discrete actions each time and at no time were you engaged in any relevant business activity. You were not offending based on need, rather to feed your drug and gambling habits and to enjoy the luxuries such money afforded you.

“Offences like yours may well be easy to commit, but they are time-consuming and expensive to detect and prosecute.”

Lily McKenzie. Picture: Facebook

Name: Lily McKenzie

Age: 24

Location: Geelong

Charges: One count of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception and two counts of attempting to dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception

Amount fleeced: $147,000

Sentence: Two years and six months with a six-month non-parole period

Lily McKenzie registered a social assistance business in 2021, then proceeded to help herself to nearly $150,000 from the public purse via 10 fake BAS.

Some of the money was spent on holiday bookings.

McKenzie attempted to obtain a further $58,000.

The Victorian County Court heard she had “faced appalling disadvantage” in her life.

McKenzie had been before the court three times before. Her record included five matters of theft and one offence of handling stolen goods, as well as six counts of reckless cause injury and five instances of affray.

She avoided jail for all of that. But not for the GST rort.

In March, a sentence of two years and six months was imposed, with a non-parole period of six months.

“You sought to dishonestly defraud the ATO to the detriment of taxpayers who comply with the law,” Judge Pardeep Tiwana said.

“In light of your criminal history and the fact that the offending was not isolated, deterring you also assumes importance.”

Jessica Pakatyilla. Picture: Facebook

Name: Jessica Pakatyilla

Age: 25

Location: Southport, Queensland

Charge: One count of general dishonesty, obtaining a gain

Amount fleeced: $50,000

Sentence: Two-year good behaviour period

One of the reasons young mother Jessica Pakatyilla avoided jail was that she contacted the ATO seeking to repay the $49,700 she took through the GST refund scam she had learnt of on social media.

She also provided a letter of apology and details of people she collaborated with.

“Your conduct contacting the Australian Taxation Office and asking how you can start repaying indicates remorse and an acceptance of responsibility for your actions. It is a mitigating factor in determining an appropriate sentence,” Queensland District Court judge Nicole Kefford said in March.

Rachel Saville. Picture: Facebook

Name: Rachel Saville

Age: 37

Location: Wollongong, NSW

Charges: Four counts of obtaining benefit by deception

Amount fleeced: $74,000

Sentence: One year and eight months with a non-parole period of 10 months

Rachel Saville lodged an extraordinary 63 fraudulent business activity statements between February and July 2022.

She obtained $73,650 but tried to get a further $193,000.

She later confessed in a message to the Tax Office.

“To whom it may concern, my name is Rachel Valerie Saville and I’m voluntarily owning up to a big mistake I made doing mini business fraud,” her email to the ATO said.

She pleaded guilty to three counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

Joshua Merrett.

Name: Joshua Merrett

Age: 31

Location: Taylors Lakes, Victoria

Charges: One count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, one of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception, and one of failing to comply with an order

Amount fleeced: $395,000

Sentence: 2 years and 11 months with a non-parole of one year and eight months

Father-of-two Joshua Merrett lodged 16 claims for a fake staircase and antique repair business in June 2021 – to fund his pokie addiction.

The claims ranged in size from $880 to $72,636. In all, he netted $394,801 from the ATO, which he blew on gambling.

In April, Victorian County Judge Sarah Leighfield said Merrett’s conduct was premeditated, persistent and methodical.

“This was not a case where you were simply overstating otherwise legitimate claims. Rather you were not operating a business at the time and, as such, were not entitled to any refund at all,” she said.

Judge Leighfield said tax fraud was not a victimless crime as the burden of the loss was suffered by all taxpayers.

Tiana Dawes. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Name: Tiana Dawes

Age: 31

Location: Corio, Victoria

Charges: One count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one of handling stolen goods

Amount fleeced: $111,000

Sentence: 15 months prison with a minimum term of five months

The story of Tiana Dawes explains why so little of the $2 billion that was stolen has been recovered.

Dawes – a drug addict – stole a six-figure sum. But when she was caught, only $40 was left.

In sentencing Dawes in December 2023, Judge Andrew Tinney said a CCO was “simply not open” and said a term of imprisonment was necessary.

Judge Tinney said the offending was planned and showed some level of sophistication as it “was all completely false”.

“You could have been under no illusions as to how serious this was,” he told Dawes.

Ashleigh Westlow. Picture: Facebook

Name: Ashleigh Westlow

Age: 32

Location: Geelong, Victoria

Charge: One count of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception

Amount fleeced: $198,000

Sentence: 28 months suspended

Ashleigh Westlow thought ripping off taxpayers could be her “get out of jail free card” to pay off drug and gambling debts.

Between September 2021 and April 2022, she made 12 GST refund claims for supposed purchases for a laundry business that did not exist.

In an interview with Victoria Police in May 2022, she initially claimed to have bought vacuums.

But in sentencing Westlow late last year, County Court Judge Kevin Doyle said “by the end of the interview, you said that when you lodged your first BAS in September 2021 you had realised this was a way to obtain money and that the GST refund money was your ‘get out of jail free card’ and you could use it to pay people back.”

Between committing the offences and going to court, Westlow turned her life around.

Her boyfriend’s mother took her in while he was in jail – provided she got off drugs, stopped gambling and got a job, which she did.

After her boyfriend was released from prison, Westlow fell pregnant and had a baby boy in April last year.

Judge Doyle decided to spare her jail for reasons including the “compelling evidence of rehabilitation” and the potential mental-health impact on her child.

A three-year good behaviour period was imposed.

Tahra Wyntje. Picture: Facebook

Name: Tahra Wyntjes

Age: 22

Location: Moe, Victoria

Charges: One count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception

Amount fleeced: $600,000

Sentence: Four years with non-parole period of two years and four months

Tahra Wyntjes spent some of what she stole via 27 false business activity statements on luxury purchases from Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

“This was not an offence that was committed for need,” Victorian County Court judge Richard Maidment said in sentencing.

“This was an offence of sheer greed and opportunism, having discovered the means by which you could cheat the Tax Office.”

Judge Maidment went on to say: “There could perhaps be further safeguards within the taxation system to prevent that occurring. The system relies very significantly on the trust that the ATO and the country places upon people to act honestly with respect to their tax affairs. To put too many hurdles in the way of people who want to conduct a legitimate business is not necessarily conducive to a good outcome so far as the general community is concerned, and is calculated to interfere with efficient business activity.

“For those reasons, a lot of trust is placed on people not to abuse the system as you undoubtedly did,” Judge Maidment said.

Andrew Drew. Picture: Facebook

Name: Andrew Drew

Age: 25

Location: Bayswater North, Victoria

Charges: Two counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and two of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception

Amount fleeced: $111,000

Sentence: One year and two months with a minimum three months in jail.

Andrew Drew learned how to commit the GST fraud via his TikTok network. The scam was allegedly taught and perpetrated by suspected Melbourne “hoons”.

While on bail for other crimes, Drew lodged 10 fake business activity statements and netted more than $100,000.

Police arrested Drew in August 2023 and when interviewed he admitted dishonestly obtaining the six-figure sum to “fund a significant cocaine and gambling habit”, County Court Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis said in her sentencing remarks last year.

As well as getting involved in the GST rort, Drew also made false claims under a NSW flood recovery program.

When Drew was sentenced to a minimum three months in jail, he had already spent 85 days behind bars.

Branko Despot. Picture Victoria Police

Name: Branko Despot

Age: 32

Location: East Gippsland, Victoria

Charges: One count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception

Amount fleeced: $104,000

Sentence: Two years and six months with a minimum 10 months in jail

It was while in custody, in December 2021, that Branko Despot began working on a plan to defraud the ATO.

Speaking to a friend on the phone, he said he knew a “very easy way to make money for doing nothing using a myGov account and a linked ATO account”.

The call was recorded.

He went on to obtain over $100,000 which he spent on eBay purchases, car improvements and gambling.

He was charged in January 2023.

Still, in May, he tried the same scam again.

“You may have seen what you were doing as a victimless crime, but of course it is not, as crimes such as yours affect all taxpayers and society in general,” County Court judge Rosemary Carlin said in sentencing last year.

Originally published as Record-breaking $2bn fraud scheme uncovered as 105 Aussies convicted in TikTok-fuelled scam