Duane Jose Saltmer and Ravindra Deo Narayan of OSMG and OSMT sentenced to jail for $4 million tax evasion scheme

A North Queensland business director and his former tax accountant are behind bars after an ATO audit exposed the pair’s years of white collar crimes.

Duane Jose Saltmer and Ravindra Deo Narayan of OSMG and OSMT sentenced to jail in Townsville District Court for $4 million tax evasion scheme

Nine years after they were audited by the Australian Taxation Office two men have been jailed for the millions of dollars they were caught ‘stealing’ by avoiding tax and submitting false invoices and claims.

Duane Jose Saltmer, 56 and Ravindra Deo Narayan, 61, appeared in the Townsville District Court on Tuesday morning after their white collar scheme to pocket more than $4 million was exposed.

In 2013 to 2015 Saltmer was the sole director of companies OSMG and OSMT – organisations that were limited by shares, all of which were head by Saltmer except in OSMT’s case in which he split the shares with his wife, the court was told.

Saltmer’s wife has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Narayan during that time was the tax accountant for those companies.

Judge John Coker outlined the offences which the pair committed over the years-long period stating that Saltmer and Narayan had agreed to manipulate the GST or income tax liability of the two businesses in question.

Additionally, Narayan issued false invoices from an accounting firm to OSMG and OSMT via email.

“Each invoice recorded that the supply of services described in the invoice was a taxable supply and included a GST component of the total price,” Judge Coker said.

“The invoices were false because the services that were recorded on the invoices were never provided.

“Saltmer transferred funds from OSMG and OSMT to Narayan in respect of the invoices (in most cases the full amount of the invoice), Narayan transferred the majority of the amounts that he received to Saltmer’s account but retained an amount for himself (10 per cent of the amount he received).”

The court was also told when it came to Saltmer’s income tax returns, Narayan didn’t include his accessible income that was received as a result of funds being transferred to him via the false invoice scheme.

“In the company’s tax returns for OSMG and OSMT, Narayan claimed deductions for the amounts transferred out of (the companies) in respect of the false invoices,” Judge Coker said.

Duane Jose Saltmer and Ravindra Deo Narayan of OSMG and OSMT sentenced to jail in Townsville District Court for $4 million tax evasion scheme. Picture: istock

In September 2015 the Commissioner notified Saltmer that the ATO was conducting an audit into the tax affairs of OSMG and OSMT, and he and Narayan asked two employees to amend MYOB records of the businesses by allocating falsely claimed expenses to the businesses’ suppliers, His Honour told the court.

Neither of the employees are accused of any wrongdoing.

“Suffice to say $4,124,79.40 was obtained falsely by the defendants as a result of the offending,” Judge Coker said.

“Only a smaller portion of that was received by Narayan: a little less than 10 per cent, in the vicinity of $380,000.”

The court was told while both men showed clear signs of remorse, they both blamed each other for the scheme beginning in the first place.

The court heard Saltmer told a forensic psychologist that he didn’t pay “full attention” to the reports coming through.

“While indicating that the idea of the offending was proposed by Narayan, he accepted he participated,” Judge Coker said.

In part of the psychologist report that was read to the court, Saltmer said, “I didn’t realise the extent to which it had gotten to until the documentation had to be provided to the ATO, I became physically ill after I saw how much”, it read.

“I’m not a dishonest, greedy person, but I am I guess or I allowed myself to be.”

Judge Coker then referred to Narayan’s psychologist report in which he told the expert “he felt embarrassed, ashamed and puzzled” as to why he became involved in the offending.

His Honour emphasised that it was Narayan that held qualification in tax and he should have comprehended the consequences of such offences.

“It is tragic that two people of the age, maturity and accomplishments of the two defendants that now appear before court face such serious charges particularly when neither have been before the courts before,” Judge Coker said.

The sentence was part heard in Townsville District Court on Monday before crown prosecutor Claire Nicholson, Saltmer was represented by defence barrister Claire Grant and Narayan was represented by defence barrister Jamie Singh.

Saltmer pleaded guilty to five counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception.

He was sentenced to five years jail with a non-parole period of two and a half years and will be released on February 19, 2027 as his family shed tears at the back of the courtroom.

Narayan pleaded guilty to six counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception.

He was sentenced to five and a half years jail with a non-parole period of two years and nine months and will be released on May 19, 2027.

Originally published as Duane Jose Saltmer and Ravindra Deo Narayan of OSMG and OSMT sentenced to jail for $4 million tax evasion scheme