Tears as construction boss George Alex and conspirators jailed for $10m tax fraud

There were gasps and tears as a disgraced construction boss and his co-conspirators were jailed over a “crude” $10m tax fraud scheme.

There were gasps and tears as disgraced construction boss George Alex and his conspirators were jailed for defrauding the Australian Taxation Office out of more than $10m.

He and his co-conspirators Lindsay Kirschberg, Pasquale Loccisano, Gordon McAndrew and Mark Bryers have been found guilty of conspiracy to cause loss and conspiring to deal in the proceeds of crime.

They fronted the NSW Supreme Court on Friday to be sentenced over their elaborate multimillion-dollar fraud that was described as a “revolving door” scam.

“It is a fraud on all other taxpayers who lawfully pay what is due for the maintenance of government and the provision of services for the common good,” Justice Desmond Fagan said.

“None of them have shown any remorse.”

George Alex has been jailed for defrauding the tax office out of more than $10m. Picture: NewsWire / Simon Bullard.

He found the crimes had been carried out for the benefit of Alex, who controlled the multimillion-dollar fraud and claimed the “lion’s share of the profits”.

The court was told the conspirators withheld more than $10m that should have been paid to the ATO in pay-as-you-go withholding tax over two years.

Alex was the owner of a labour hire company that provided employees for construction businesses but did not employ those workers directly.

Instead, the conspirators made payments through 10 intermediary companies and amassed pay-as-you-go debts in a scheme Justice Fagan described as “crude” and “simplistic”.

Their trial in the NSW Supreme Court ran for six months and cost taxpayers about $3.6m in Commonwealth legal assistance, which was provided to four of the offenders.

For presiding over the multimillion-dollar tax fraud, Alex was sentenced to nine years and three months behind bars with a non-parole period of six years and two months.

Loccisano and Bryers, who was once a New Zealand rich lister, were jailed for 8½ years with a non-parole period of six years.

He spearheaded the scheme for his own benefit, the court was told. Picture: NewsWire / Simon Bullard

Alex used the funds to line his own pockets. Picture: NewsWire / Simon Bullard.

Kirschberg and McAndrew received eight years imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 5½ years.

Bryers’ right-hand man Lucas Connell was sentenced to a year-and-a-half behind bars after pleading guilty to aiding Bryers to dishonestly cause a loss to the Commonwealth.

Justice Fagan found that Connell was “only minimally and peripherally involved” in Bryers’ offending and ordered him to be released after eight months on a good behaviour bond.

There were audible gasps in the public gallery when the sentence was delivered, and one of Connell’s relatives broke down in tears.

More to come