A jury in Victoria has found Mildura man Huvasi Cayli, 43, guilty of defrauding the Australian Taxation Office in a scheme to obtain fake GST refunds. Cayli was accused of defrauding the tax office of 87,430 dollars and attempting to claim another 104,659 dollars in GST refunds.
The case centered on a scheme in which an Australian business number was created and linked to a MyGov account. The user would report, inaccurately, how much the business spent, enabling claims for GST refunds on purchases tied to the supposed business.
Witnesses described the process as an honour system, with taxpayers trusted to report amounts honestly on transactions that were not verified.
On Tuesday afternoon, a jury of 12 found Cayli guilty on all counts of deceiving or attempting to deceive the tax office for financial gain.
During the trial Cayli acted with convicted fraudster Linden Phillips for the first 11 charges, but then carried out the remaining 11 alone after Phillips was taken into police custody in late April.
The Commonwealth case alleged 22 charges that Cayli, Phillips, and a third party lodged false business activity statements to secure GST refunds for items Cayli did not purchase for his earthmoving company.
Cayli rejected the plan with Phillips, blaming him for the alleged scam.
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