Patrick Willmott: ATO fraudster not guilty of assaulting tenant at Caringbah unit

The “chief financial officer” of a $105m tax fraud syndicate has been cleared of assaulting his former tenant over a $300 water bill, telling the court he acted in self-defence.

Patrick Willmott was found not guilty of assaulting a former tenant. Picture: Instagram

The “chief financial officer” of a $105m tax fraud syndicate has been found not guilty of assaulting his former tenant during an altercation over a $300 water bill.

Patrick John Willmott defended a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm during a hearing in Sutherland Local Court on Thursday,

He pleaded not guilty, claiming he acted in self defence and he was the person who was “coward hit” at a Caringbah home in 2021.

Willmott was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court in May for his role in the massive tax rip off that was run by a collection of white collar finance workers, a tax lawyer and others.

One of the architects of the scheme was Adam Cranston, the son of former deputy commissioner for the Australian Taxation Office, Michael Cranston.

Patrick Willmott defended allegations of assault in Sutherland Local Court.

Michael Cranston is not accused of any wrongdoing while Adam was found guilty by a jury of running the scheme between 2014 and 2017 that saw a supposedly legitimate payroll company, Plutus Payroll, steal about $105m from the Australian Taxation Office.

On Thursday, the court heard Willmott was the landlord of a Caringbah unit and a tenant Daniel Heinz had recently left but returned on June 1 to collect work clothes.

Willmott and Heinz had exchanged messages that morning with Willmott claiming Heinz owed him $300 for his share of a water bill, along with his former flatmates, which Heinz did not believe he owed.

Heinz told the court he sought permission from the flatmates to enter the property and arrived about 9pm, where he saw Willmott.

Willmott said he wasn’t allowed onto the property and he was “trespassing”.

A short scuffle ensued before they walked to the back of the house.

Heinz claimed Willmott punched him in the face, then several times on top of his head before he was uppercut and knocked out.

However, Heinz did not tell police about being unconscious in his police statement.

Heinz told the court he then regained consciousness, grabbed his clothes and left.

However, Willmott told the court he told Heinz to stop trespassing but when he was followed around the back of the house he told Heinz to get his clothes.

Willmott claimed he “copped a big hit in the back of the head” before he turned around and where Heinz was “ready to fight” and Willmott “threw a punch and hit him in the right side of the face”.

Willmott claimed there was a short scuffle before he overpowered Heinz and threw him to the ground.

When asked why he punched Heinz he said: “I had been coward punched from behind, I was stuck in a corner, I felt enclosed and I was defending myself” before adding Heinz was “aggressive” which made him “tense and fearful”.

Willmott said he then grabbed the clothes horse, with Heinz’s clothes and threw them onto the median strip before Heinz grabbed them and left.

The court also heard Willmott’s mother arrived shortly before the scuffle and saw the assault on her son, largely confirming the version of events her son made.

Magistrate Jayeann Carney said both men “portrayed the other as the initial aggressor” and noted the situation was heated, adding both were still thinking about the water bill.

She noted she would have expected Heinz to have told police about being knocked out given he made the complaint only hours later, and had photos taken of his injuries at hospital.

Ms Carney accepted Willmott acted in self defence and his actions were reasonable.

Willmott was found not guilty and the charge was dismissed.