Elizabeth Janelle Addo jailed for tax fraud and drugs while pregnant

Heavily-pregnant Elizabeth Janelle Addo, 32, will likely give birth in jail after being sentenced for a “blatant and fanciful” tax fraud that netted her $150,000, which she spent on drugs, alcohol and shopping sprees.

Elizabeth Janelle Addo, 32, pleaded guilty to 10 charges related to a $336,000 tax fraud, and was sentenced to jail, where she will likely give birth to her baby in April.

A heavily pregnant Cairns woman has been sentenced to two years and 10 months jail for a $336,000 tax fraud in which she claimed her fake cleaning business was turning over more than $3.5m.

Elizabeth Janelle Addo, 32, pleaded guilty in Cairns District Court to five charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception and five of attempting to gain financial advantage, and was permitted to sit through the proceedings because she was eight months pregnant.

The court was told she lodged false Business Activity Statements claims for Goods and Service Tax reimbursements between December 2021 and June 2022, and was paid about $150,000 by the Australian Taxation Office and attempted to gain a further $186,333.

She was a meth-user at the time, and spent the money on drugs, alcohol and shopping sprees, the court was told.

Judge Dean Morzone said Addo’s tax fraud was “blatant and fanciful” while sentencing her for lodging false BAS to claim GST refunds for a fake cleaning business.

During sentencing, Judge Dean Morzone said Addo’s crimes were “dishonest, deliberate and intentional”, and described her behaviour as manipulative.

“She knew that proceedings were afoot … I don’t expect people to stop their lives but part of the ongoing irresponsibility is she turns up for a sentence pregnant,” Judge Morzone said.

“The tragedy is that it affects a child – when is she going to get it – that it’s not about her?”

“It’s a continued demonstration of an attitude of manipulation; I’m dealing with someone who’s calculated and works out how to do things to achieve an ends.

“It is another tragedy – sucking on the public teat of money.”

Judge Morzone described Addo’s imminent birthing experience in prison as a “another tragedy”, questioning when she was going to realise it was “not about her”.

The court was told Addo registered an ABN for a cleaning company that she said could also manage “drapes and soft furnishings” in late 2021, submitting her first false business activity statement the same day she registered the fake business.

Defence barrister Thomas Feeney said Addo had struggled with drugs since her teens, and was now expecting a baby in April 2025.

He said she had recently made strong attempts to gain a certificate three in business administration and live-in rehabilitation, but had not finished either exercise.

He said she was coached by fellow drug-users in how to set up the tax fraud.

Defence barrister Thomas Feeney said fellow meth-users had showed his client, Elizabeth Addo, 32, how to create an ABN and lodge false BAS statements.

“It’s not a complicated process to lodge these BAS statements – she instructs that somebody completed the first set-up and BAS statement, and thereafter she put the new amount in one box,” Mr Feeney said.

She went on to submit a total of 14 claims and revisions, and was paid out $149,671 before the ATO put a stop to her payments and informed her they were doing an audit.

The court was told Addo would likely give birth in prison which, sentencing Judge Dean Morzone said might “ironically” provide her a better chance of bonding with her baby than she had outside prison.

Addo will be released from prison on a $1000 good behaviour bond after serving four months of her two year and 10 months sentence.

“What troubles me is that you start a lot of good things, but you struggle to finish them,” Judge Morzone said.

“It is likely that your child will be born in custody … rather ironically, it may be a place where your full attention can be given to that role, appropriately supported (but) it’s not ideal.

”You may be able to enjoy motherhood in a way that is healthy, that you are sober and the child has the full presence of you in that nurturing time.”

He said the prison sentence was necessary to deter Addo and others, and sentenced her to two years and 10 months, with release after four months on a 2.5-year $1000 good behaviour bond.

Originally published as Elizabeth Janelle Addo jailed for tax fraud and drugs while pregnant