Lawyer Dev Menon bragged about $105m tax scam

A corrupt lawyer bragged about his role in a staggering $105m scam that he called “the biggest tax fraud in Australia’s history”.

A corrupt lawyer has been jailed for at least nine years for his role in defrauding taxpayers out of $105m in one of the biggest tax scams in Australian history.

Dev Menon appeared in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday to be sentenced for participating in the Plutus Payroll tax fraud, which siphoned money intended for taxes off to a number of second-tier companies.

After a nine-month trial, he and four co-conspirators were found guilty of misappropriating $105m in taxes between 2014 to 2017 to fund “lavish personal expenditure”.

The court was told Menon had joined Plutus Payroll after it had been set up by Adam Cranston, the son of the then deputy commissioner of the Australian Taxation Office.

Dev Menon has been jailed for his role in the $105m tax fraud. Picture: NewsWire

However, Justice Anthony Payne said the solicitor played a “pivotal role” in growing and sustaining the large-scale scam after he knowingly became involved in 2015.

He used his reputation and professional experience as a lawyer and an accountant to provide advice on how to carry out the scam, avoid detection, and manage the second-tier companies.

“He abused the position of trust the whole of the community affords to solicitors,” Justice Payne said.

The 39-year-old was instrumental in appointing “vulnerable, drug-addicted people” as directors for the second-tier companies and manipulating them to carry out the fraud.

“What we’re doing is legal. We’ve been doing it for years,” he lied to one director.

Justice Payne said Menon lied to Revenue NSW about the director’s competency despite knowing they weren’t capable of fulfilling their duties and calling one “illiterate”.

He used his legal expertise to draft documents to further the fraud and participated in the forgery of signatures on documents to lend them legitimacy, the court was told.

“Mr Menon’s accounting and legal skills and his professional reputation as a commercial and taxation lawyer were crucial for the long-term successful operation of the conspiracies,” Justice Payne said.

The disgraced accountant used his legal expertise to draft documents to effect the scam and participated in the forgery of signatures on documents to lend them legitimacy, the court was told.

Lauren and Adam Cranston were also found guilty of playing a major role in the scam. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

He also facilitated crucial transactions, took steps to avoid detection by the ATO and discussed destroying evidence.

“We’ve got to torch this sh*t to the ground,” he told his co-conspirators in a covertly recorded conversation.

Justice Payne ruled Menon was “not principally motivated by greed” to participate in the multimillion-dollar tax fraud, unlike his co-conspirators, who spent their stolen funds on a boat and a plane.

The court was told the 39-year-old received just more than $248,000 in shares during the two years of his involvement while knowing it was money that should have been paid in taxes.

Justice Payne said the scammer appeared to show no remorse or contrition for the “systemic defrauding for revenue”.

“He appears still to believe that he and his co-conspirators have done nothing criminal,” he said.

Menon told his co-conspirators it was a “blessing in disguise” that the complicated tax fraud was “such a clusterf**k” because it meant they wouldn’t be detected by the ATO.

He maintained they were “just f***ing with the books” and said they had kept Plutus “so squeaky f***ing clean” by paying a small portion of their tax obligations.

Justice Payne slammed the attitude and pointed out that tax fraud “is a form of corruption” that imposed “collective financial injury on the community”.

Menon showed no remorse for his role in the multimillion-dollar fraud. Picture: Facebook

He heavily criticised Menon’s “gross violation of societal rules” that meant more than $105m would have to be recouped through cuts to government services or increased taxes.

The disgraced lawyer was sentenced to 14 years behind bars with a non-parole period of nine years.He will be eligible for release in May 2032.

The court was told it was unlikely Menon would work as a solicitor or an accountant again.

Menon appeared to break down as Justice Payne talked about the effect of the 39-year-old’s incarceration on his family, covering his face and wiping his eyes.

He clutched his head in his hands when the verdict was delivered.