Tax Fraud
Wins Australian Gambler 10 Years
As reported by Port Vila
Presse: "A gambling addiction, blind ambition
and a desire to flaunt his riches led Keith Jonathan
Fernandez to play a central role in one of the biggest
stamp duty frauds in Victorian history — a
role for which he was sentenced to at least seven
years' jail yesterday.
"County Court judge Leo Hart sentenced the
accountant, 36, who failed to pass on $10.1 million
in tax to the State Revenue Office, to 10 years'
jail with a non-parole period of seven.
"Fernandez, a former director of now-liquidated
TQM Legal and Accounting, stole the money from February
1998 to November 2000. Through the company, which
serviced the legal profession and conveyancing industry,
Fernandez collected more than $15 million in duty
but declared only $5 million to the State Revenue
Office.
"He poured the stolen money into offshore
betting accounts, with $3.1 million paid in 38 cheques
to Dialabet, a Vanuatu-based phone betting service.
"He also gambled more than $500,000 at the
Crown casino, losing almost half that amount..."
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