Ned Maxwell Ross, 24, sentenced for ‘get rich quick’ ATO scam

A Cairns man who tried to obtain over $148,000 from the Australian taxpayer through false GST declarations was roped into the scam by a woman who made off with the loot, a court has heard.

A Cairns man who tried to obtain over $148,000 from the Australian taxpayer through false GST declarations was roped into the scam by a woman who made off with the loot, a court has heard.

Ned Maxwell Ross, who was 21 at the time of the offending, pleaded guilty in Cairns District Court to one count of obtaining financial advantage through deception and five counts of attempting to obtain financial advantage through deception.

Mr Ross used a legitimate ABN number he registered as a construction business in 2019 to make falseGST declarations using myGov despite not running an actual business.

Commonwealth prosecutor Sam Lanskey told the court as a result of false details being entered into the business activity statement of October 2021, Mr Ross received a GST refund of $19,012.

The Cairns Court House building on Sheridan Street. Picture: Brendan Radke

Mr Ross then made five further false declarations attempting to obtain a further $129,537 even after being warned by the ATO that they did not believe he was operating a business.

Mr Lanskey said the defendant was “persistent” in his attempts to obtain the refunds calling the ATO a number of times to see what he needed to do to have them processed.

“The offending is opportunistic, deliberate, and motivated by his desire to obtain a significant amount of taxpayers money within a short space of time,” Mr Lanskey said.

A search warrant was executed on Mr Ross’ residence, with Mr Lanskey telling the court Mr Ross told police that $17,000 of the money he received went to a woman.

Mr Lanskey said bank statements revealed large cash withdrawals of $10,000 and $6000, which he submitted went to another person as commission, as well as transactions on online stores, licenced premises and online gambling sites.

During Mr Lanskey’s submissions Judge Joshua Trevino KC commented that the Cairns court had seen an unusually large number of similar cases.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos SEPTEMBER 21, 2023: Judge Joshua Trevino KC during a welcome ceremony in the Brisbane Supreme Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Mr Ross’ defence counsel Martin Longhurst told the court he was a young man and someone that had been “roped into this get rich scheme” and he “took it by the horns”.

Mr Longhurst said Mr Ross had made frank admissions to the police telling them it was this other person that “made off” with this money.

“There was no good reason for this, he got told that during Covid people were getting these payments,” Mr Longhurst said.

Judge Trevino, in his sentencing remarks, accepted that Mr Ross was assisted by a third party to make the claims and was “seduced by the prospect of easy money by this woman”.

“Perhaps your lack of maturity explains your stupidity and the fact you couldn’t resist money for nothing,” he said.

“The fact you acted under this person and you didn’t receive much of the money yourself suggests there is no honour amongst thieves.”

Mr Ross was sentenced to two years imprisonment, to be released on parole after serving four months.

Originally published as Ned Maxwell Ross, 24, sentenced for ‘get rich quick’ ATO scam