Adam Cranston's comeback plan, after being charged with tax fraud, involved going into business with a company allegedly controlled by criminals and getting his father, a former top Tax Office official, involved.
From left George Alex (in black), Lindsay Kirschberg (obscured), Adam Cranston (in white shirt) and an unknown man (in singlet) at the February 2018 meeting in the Earlwood patisserie.
It was a meeting cloaked in mystery: the patrons of the New York Patisserie in Earlwood, in Sydney's inner west, would have ignored the group sitting at the outside table – except for the distinctive pudgy face and animated manner of Adam Cranston.
Nine months earlier, Cranston had been a corporate high-flyer, only to see his world collapse as his company Plutus Payroll was hit by a storm of tax fraud charges. But according to his father, former deputy commissioner of taxation Michael Cranston, within weeks Adam had got back into business, working for accounting firm Wentworth Williams.
Neil ChenowethSenior writerNeil Chenoweth is an investigative reporter for The Australian Financial Review. He is based in Sydney and has won multiple Walkley Awards. Connect with Neil on Twitter. Email Neil at nchenoweth@afr.com.au
David Marin-GuzmanWorkplace correspondentDavid Marin-Guzman writes about industrial relations, workplace, policy and leadership from Sydney. Connect with David on Twitter. Email David at david.marin-guzman@afr.com
