Children of Ex-ATO deputy commissioner found guilty over roles in tax fraud
Date published
March 2023
Siblings Lauren and Adam Cranston have been found guilty of their role in a $105 million tax-fraud.
During the trial, the court heard allegations a legitimate payroll company was used to collect gross wages from employers, with money that should have been paid to the ATO siphoned off to other companies. These companies allegedly had random, unconnected and sometimes vulnerable parties installed as directors.
Ms Cranston and Mr Cranston, along with 2 other defendants were found guilty of conspiring to dishonestly cause a loss to the Commonwealth and conspiring to deal with the proceeds of crime.
Related countermeasures
Match data with the authoritative source and verify relevant details or supporting evidence.
Services such as the Identity Matching Service can be used to verify identity credentials back to the authoritative source when the information is an Australian or state and territory government issued identity credential.
This countermeasure is supported by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's Guidelines on data matching in Australian government administration.
Fraud detection software programs automatically analyse data to detect what is different from what is standard, normal or expected and may indicate fraud or corruption.
Investigate fraud in line with the Australian Government Investigation Standards (AGIS).
These are penalties for customers, staff or third parties that commit fraud or do not comply with rules, processes and expectations.