Lauren Cranston pictured leaving court last week.Credit:Janie Barrett
Her brother,Adam Cranston,was found guilty of the same charges last week after a nine-month trial and almost two months of jury deliberations. Also convicted of the same two charges were former solicitor Dev Menon,and former professional snowboarder Jason Onley.
On Monday afternoon,Lauren Cranston began sobbing in court when the jury found her guilty of both charges.
Jurors continue to deliberate in the case of Patrick Willmott,36,a school friend of Adam Cranston who also faced trial on the same two charges.
The charges arose from a police investigation called Operation Elbrus,in which many conversations and telephone calls involving the accused were recorded by authorities from late 2016. The lengthy trial began in April 2022 and the jury commenced their deliberations on January 18.
From left to right:Jason Onley,Adam Cranston,Lauren Cranston,Patrick Willmott and Dev Menon.Credit:Brook Mitchell,Oscar Colman,Rhett Wyman
The Crown had alleged the five accused agreed upon a scheme with others to not remit 100 per cent of PAYG (pay as you go) withholding tax and GST (goods and services tax) to the ATO from clients of the payroll business Plutus Payroll,and siphoned $105 million between March 2014 and May 2017.
The tax debt was alleged to have been held by second-tier companies with vulnerable people installed as straw directors.