Adam Cranston used Plutus money on a LandCruiser,a Mercedes,two Porsches including a Cayenne,a truck,a Cirrus plane and a Kimberley caravan,and properties at Miranda and Burraneer Bay in Sydney’s south and Vacy in the Hunter,the trial heard.
His barrister John Stratton,SC,submitted that the Plutus enterprise was “dreamed up by two skilled fraudsters”,who cannot be named for legal reasons,and they sold Plutus to Cranston and Onley to remove themselves from what they anticipated would be a disaster.
Stratton said,in comparison,his client had started a business degree but did not finish it,and was “clearly not the sharpest tool in the tool shed”.
The Crown alleged Cranston was referring to the scheme when he was recorded in January 2017 saying “if this was uncovered ... it would be ‘f---ingBen-Hur, man’.”
Solicitor Dev Menon was heard saying it would be the “biggest tax fraud in Australia’s history”.
Menon was alleged to have joined the agreement in March 2015. The Crown said Menon had not provided legal advice but lied,coached others to lie,destroyed evidence and recommended crucial witnesses “go away”.
The Crown said Menon had rehearsed wanting to blame it all on alleged co-conspirator Peter Larcombe,38,who left Australia in 2015 and died in August 2016.
Menon’s barrister Peter Bruckner said his client did not believe he was participating in a tax fraud,did not have a financial motive,and was “brave” in the face of an alleged extortion plot involving threats of violence and media.
The Crown alleged Onley was part of discussions about setting up Plutus,including a lunch meeting at the Men’s Gallery strip club and a 2014 product launch at the Hilton,and made staff “who asked too many questions” redundant.
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Onley,a former professional snowboarder,allegedly generated significant funds from the scheme,put towards a Porsche Cayman and Macan,a BMW,a share in a luxury boat,a St Kilda unit and Collingwood property in Melbourne,and a $2 million house in Vaucluse in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
In a January 2017 budget meeting,Onley allegedly told others he “didn’t sleep a wink” as the ATO was starting to garnish second-tier bank accounts,and he had been hoping to settle on a different Vaucluse home. The prosecutor alleged Onley knew his money was “tainted”.
Barrister Russ Johnson said Onley was not part of either alleged conspiracy.
Willmott,a school friend of Adam Cranston,was allegedly involved from day one managing inaugural second-tier company Keystone,which the Crown said was left with a tax liability of $6 million.
In May 2016,on the Crown case,Cranston was told Willmott and Larcombe had allegedly taken “more than their fair share”. The Crown claimed Willmott was brought back into the fold in early 2017.
Barrister Luke Brasch argued Willmott was not a party to either conspiracy and,if they existed,he did not know about them.
The Crown said Lauren Cranston’s role was “very different” and involved manual tasks such as processing payroll including allegedly not remitting the correct PAYG and GST to the ATO.
The Crown said any suggestion that she knew nothing was a drastic understatement as she attended meetings about the scheme and used tens of thousands of Plutus dollars on a property in Picton.
Defence barrister Troy Anderson,SC,said a reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence was that his client was “doing her job” and believed she was paying sufficient tax,based on the instructions of Menon and her brother. He said she was not part of any conspiracies,if they existed.
With Georgina Mitchell
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