Nathan Hynes has avoided jail after pocketing more than $100K in GST scam with help from unknown accomplice

A Mildura man who pocketed more than $100K in taxpayer money from a fraudulent GST scheme has claimed he paid a third party to lodge the illicit paperwork for him.

Nathan Hynes has avoided jail despite pleading guilty to involvement in a sophisticated GST scam which saw him pocket more than $100,000 Picture: Supplied

A Mildura man who defrauded the government out of more than $100,000 using a well known scam has claimed he used a third party to commit the crime.

Nathan Hynes, who pleaded guilty to recklessly spending proceeds of crime, told Mildura Magistrates’ Court he paid “ a couple of grand for every ten grand I got,” but stopped short of naming just who the third party was.

The scam was uncovered as part of Operation Protego, an initiative by the Australian Taxation Office specifically aimed at cracking down on such fraudulent schemes.

The court heard Hynes had applied for an ABN under the guise of vineyard labour work in December of 2019.

He then registered for GST in May of 2022, before the mystery conduit lodged no less than nine fraudulent Business Activity Statements (BAS), the proceeds of which landed in a bank account belonging to Hynes.

Mildura man Nathan Hynes claimed a third party did the fraudulent paperwork that resulted in him receiveing more than $100,000 in a sophisticated GST scam

The nine fraudulent BAS statements totalled a return of $108,761, all of which Hynes had spent before Monday’s hearing.

The court heard the accused was in receipt of jobseeker at the time he received the money.

Hynes was charged with recklessly spending proceeds of crime, but wasn’t charged with lodging the fraudulent BAS, a point that left Magistrate Patrick Southey flabbergasted.

“How is this not like all of the other cases?” Mr Southey remarked at one point.

Hynes’ lawyer informed the court his client “didn’t have the capacity to pay the money back”.

Hynes was handed a three-month suspended sentence and an 18-month good behaviour bond.