Joshua Merrett fronts court over GST fraud

A gambling addict conned the ATO into paying him nearly $395k in GST refunds for a non-operating business after his punting on the pokies got out of control.

Taylors Lake man Joshua Robert Merrett has been jailed for fraudulently obtaining nearly $395,000 in GST refunds without running a legitimate business.

A gambling addict who stole nearly $395,000 in a GST fraud involving a non-existent business poured the money into the pokie machines, a court has heard.

Joshua Merrett, of Taylors Lake, pleaded for a non-custodial sentence due to his guilty plea, mental health, a traumatic childhood and the impact prison would have on his two children.

The 31-year-old was sentenced on Tuesday to two years’ and 11 months’ jail but will be out on a recognizance release order after serving one year and eight months to be of good behaviour for two years.

Merrett lodged 16 claims for GST refunds in June 2021 for amounts ranging from $880 to $72,636 for his staircase and antique repair manufacturing business which existed in name only. ATO paid him $394,801 which he blew on a degenerate gambling addiction.

He made a further 15 claims totalling $336,193 which were not approved after he could not provide information to substantiate his claims.

Joshua Merrett blew the nearly $395,000 he obtained in fraudulent GST returns on gambling.

The court heard that Merrett made six calls and engaged via ATO webchat on 26 occasions to inquire about the status of his claims prior to the payment.

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.

“Offences of this kind are relatively easy to commit. They can be difficult to detect and investigations can consume considerable public resources.”

She said Merrett became disengaged from employment and his drug use escalated at the time he fraudulently obtained the GST refunds.

The court heard that what started as occasional trips to pokie venues with friends ended up with Merrett owing large sums of money which prompted him to offend.