Adam Cranston: Son of ex-treasury chief guilty of $100 million fraud used to fund a life of luxury

The jury in the marathon trial of one of Australia’s biggest tax evaders of all time has found the son of a former tax boss guilty of defrauding more than $100 million to fund his life of luxury.

After seven weeks of deliberation – which followed a nine-month trial – a jury found Adam Cranston guilty along with his co-conspirators Dev Menon and Jason Cornell Onley.

The men were each convicted of conspiring with another person to dishonestly inflict a loss on the Commonwealth and of conspiring with another person to deal in money worth $1,000,000 or more in what they believed to be the case for the proceeds of crime.

The jury is yet to reach a verdict on the alleged involvement of Cranston’s sister Lauren and another defendant, Patrick Willmott, in the so-called Plutus Payroll scandal.

Adam and Lauren Cranston are the children of Michael Cranston, a former Deputy Tax Commissioner of Australia.

Adan Cranston was convicted after a marathon trial of $100 million in Commonwealth tax fraud and now faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison

Former tax chief Adam Cranston’s son (left) with one of the luxury cars among 25 vehicles, 18 residences, 12 motorcycles, watches, fine wines, jewelry and artwork confiscated by police

The court was told that a financial services group called Plutus Payroll was behind a plan to withhold more than $105 million from the IRS over three years, using a number of second-tier companies.

Once all the verdicts are announced, an extraordinarily long and complex trial which began in April last year in the NSW Supreme Court before Justice Anthony Payne will come to an end.

On January 18 of this year, as the jury retired to deliberate, Judge Payne reminded jurors to use common sense when considering the vast body of evidence of tax fraud.

The money reportedly funded a lavish lifestyle, including luxury cars, planes, homes, jewelry and artwork.

AFP officers seized jewelry and cash (above) as evidence of the luxurious lifestyles pursued by at least two men and Adam Cranston in the Plutus Payroll tax fraud scandal

The Plutus Payroll scandal was the subject of a nine-month trial followed by a seven-week marathon deliberation by the jury, which found Adam Cranston guilty

In 2017, the Australian Federal Police seized 25 motor vehicles – luxury, vintage and racing – 18 homes, 12 motorcycles, watches, fine wines and lots of cash when they searched multiple properties linked to Adam Cranston and others.

There was also reportedly another $15 million held in 100 personal and business company accounts and stock trading accounts.

Attorneys for several of the accused conspirators argued in their defense that they bought Plutus Payroll believing it was a profitable company and had no knowledge of any unpaid taxes.

Adam Cranston (left) during his arrest by police in 2017 for conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth (right, one of the impounded aircraft) of which he has now been found guilty

Adam Cranston (right) has been found guilty of the $105 million fraud, while his sister Lauren’s (left) alleged role has yet to be determined by the jury in the long and complex trial

Judge Payne told the jury they must consider whether the unpaid tax was the result of elaborate fraud or a mistake.

“The key question is whether the non-payment (of the taxes) was dishonest in the circumstances,” the judge said in January.

Adam Cranston, who is in his mid-thirties, faces a maximum of ten years in prison on the two counts.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk