iscoverThe Tax Office has revealed the sentencing of an additional four individuals for GST fraud in a recent development of Operation Protego.
4 GST fraudsters sentenced in ATO investigation
15 July 2025
•
9 minute read
Recent action in the ATO’s Operation Protego has sentenced four people to imprisonment for their part in GST fraud, two of whom were Tax Office employees at the time.
The ATO revealed it had and would continue its “hunt” for GST fraudsters following the sentencing of the four individuals, and reinforced its “unwavering commitment” to investigating and holding all offenders to account.
You’re out of free articles for this month
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
The four sentenced in the investigation included Kim Orense from Sydney, Abigail Ussher from Sydney, former ATO employee Menuwarage Ranasinghe from Adelaide and former ATO contractor Baby Dee Zearwie from Melbourne.
John Ford, ATO deputy commissioner and Serious Financial Crime Taskforce chief, said the ATO’s ability to detect and halt GST was unwavering.
“Our fraud detection and prevention capabilities are advanced thanks to partnerships, technologies, and risk models all working together to stay ahead of fraudsters and criminals,” he said.
“Included in these sentences are individuals who, at the time of offending, were current employees and contractors at the ATO. Once their involvement was identified, their employment ceased. We expect all staff to act with the highest levels of integrity and these individuals violated the trust placed in them by the community.”
Within the investigation, Orense was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment in the Penrith District Court for dealing in money or property that was and which Orense believed to be the proceeds of indictable crime, contrary to subsection 400.4(1) of the Criminal Code.
The sentencing was handed down following the finding that Orense had lodged 14 false BAS statements in his name, resulting in him having received $214,011 in fraudulent GST.
The court found Orense then transferred these funds to alternative bank accounts and associates, including his former partner, Abigail Ussher, who was also sentenced.
It was noted that Orense was to be released, “on recognisance after serving 10 months subject to conditions to be of good behaviour for two years and to accept the supervision and guidance of Community Corrections”.
Orense’s former partner, Ussher, was also sentenced in the Penrith District Court to 12 months imprisonment for dealing in money or property that was and which Ussher believed to be the proceeds of indictable crime, contrary to subsection 400.4(1) of the Criminal Code.
According to the court, Ussher lodged three original and four revised BAS, received $117,297 in refunds through an ABN she claimed was for a business that provided crime scene cleaning services and transferred funds to Orense.
Ussher was also to be released on recognisance after serving five months, subject to conditions to be of good behaviour for two years and to accept the supervision and guidance of Community Corrections.
Investigations into Orense and Ussher found they were not carrying out the businesses they said they were and were therefore not entitled to the refunds they had claimed.
Of the four sentenced individuals, the two former ATO employees had their employment ceased immediately once their involvement was identified, the ATO said.
Former ATO employee Ranasinghe was sentenced at Adelaide Magistrates Court to four months’ imprisonment for three counts of the offence of obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
“Ms Ranasinghe lodged three BAS which misrepresented the creditable expenses incurred by her business and, as a result, obtained $16,056.00 in GST refunds,” the ATO said.
Ranasinghe was given the order that “she be released immediately upon giving security by recognisance of $500 to comply with a condition that she must be good behaviour for 18 months”.
Zearwie, a former ATO contractor, was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment at the Melbourne County Court for one count of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, where she obtained $87,649.60 in GST refunds.
The ATO revealed Zearwie was ordered to make reparations of $23,709.43 and should be immediately released on a two-year recognisance release.
Following this development in Operation Protego, the ATO urged the community to confidentially report any suspected tax crime or fraud to its online or phone line services.
You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member for free today!
