[Tax] Fake documents, real consequences

On 27 August 2026, ATO published certain tax crime prosecution case studies showing that people who deliberately cheat the tax system will be held accountable.

Fake documents, real consequences

A Brisbane man has been sentenced to 2 years in prison after he was found guilty of fraudulently obtaining $68,671 in tax returns and attempting to obtain a further $131,618.

From 2018 to 2021, John Garry Hodgins lodged 17 tax returns relating to a number of different employers that included false information about his employment, earnings and expenses. As a result, Mr Hodgins was charged with 5 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial gain.

During the audit process, Mr Hodgins failed to provide genuine evidence to substantiate his claims. Instead, he submitted falsified or misleading documents in an attempt to deceive auditors into accepting his claims.

He also repeatedly contacted the ATO client contact centre attempting to have his tax refunds released, even though they were under audit.

Mr Hodgins has been released on a good behaviour bond for 3 years. He has also been ordered to repay $32,321.36.

People who try to evade or cheat the tax and super system will get caught and we will take firm action. ATO will not tolerate this type of behaviour.

You can confidentially report suspected tax crime to the ATO by completing the tip-off form or phoning the tip-off hotline on 1800 060 062.

Trustee digs up a (w)hole lot of trouble

A South Australian man has been sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in jail for dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage of $60,049 and attempting to claim a further $44,574.

Bradley Scott Pearce, with assistance from an associate, dishonestly lodged 9 monthly business activity statements (BAS) as a trustee for a hole digging business. He received refunds totalling $35,467 which he was not entitled to. Mr Pearce attempted to receive a further $24,105, but these refunds were stopped as the purchases he reported for the business could not be substantiated. Mr Pearce had no right to claim the refunds, as the trust was not carrying out a business during the reporting periods. This activity resulted in the trust’s Australian business number (ABN) being cancelled.

Under his personal ABN, Mr Pearce lodged 8 BAS, with 4 of the lodgments claiming GST refunds. He received GST refunds totalling $24,582 which he was not entitled to. He also attempted to receive a further $20,469, but these were stopped by the ATO.

Mr Pearce was convicted and will serve 12 months in jail. He has been ordered to repay the full $60,049 he dishonestly obtained.

Receiving a criminal conviction is serious. It can have a significant impact on your reputation, career prospects and ability to travel overseas, as well as make it harder to borrow money or obtain insurance. When ATO see attempts to cheat the system, ATO take firm action.

You can confidentially report suspected tax crime to ATO by completing the tip-off form or phoning the tip-off hotline on 1800 060 062.

Brothers busted for fake document scheme

Two brothers who ran an accounting firm have received criminal convictions for a scheme to falsify Commonwealth documents in order to obtain bank loans.

Yevgeni Bezhenar (also known as James) and Alexander Bezhenar of Halifax Business Consulting Pty Ltd (Halifax) in Melbourne were convicted on all counts after pleading guilty to several charges. They admitted commissioning the creation of false Commonwealth documents to obtain bank loans for their business and a number of clients. These included business activity statements (BAS) and notices of assessment (NOA).

ATO uncovered the scheme after auditing another matter and launched an investigation that saw search warrants executed at Halifax’s office as well as an employee’s home.

ATO found evidence that the Bezhenar brothers had paid employees and others to create false BAS and NOAs. These inflated sales or earnings, which would then be passed off as genuine to banks and other lenders.

In several cases, they had commissioned the firm’s graphic designer, Eugene Vinarsky, to alter documents at their request.

The Bezhenar brothers would make handwritten amendments to the documents – sometimes doubling their clients’ actual earnings. They then sent them to Mr Vinarsky to digitally manipulate.

Mr Vinarsky went to great lengths to make the documents look legitimate. In one email, he reminded his boss, Yevgeni Bezhenar, to only provide one of the doctored documents by facsimile or hard copy, to avoid someone noticing he had edited the original document’s security stamp.

Mr Vinarsky was convicted for the part he played in the offending. He was sentenced to a 12 month community correction order requiring him to complete 200 hours of unpaid community work.

Yevgeni Bezhenar was convicted and sentenced to 10 months imprisonment. His brother, Alexander, was convicted and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment. Both were released immediately on a $1,000 recognisance release order requiring them to be of good behaviour for 18 months.

Receiving a criminal conviction is serious. It can significantly affect your reputation, career prospects and ability to travel overseas.

If you know or suspect phoenix, tax evasion or shadow economy activity, report it to ATO by completing the tip-off form or phoning ATO on 1800 060 062.

Source: Tax crime prosecution case studies | Australian Taxation Office