'Honest taxpayers ... the ultimate victims' in Riverina fraudster's schemes

Coolamon Shire resident Harley David Armstrong, 32, was jailed after appearing in the Wagga District Court earlier this month over a series of fraudulent claims, which included flood damage, in 2022.

The matter included two counts of obtaining a financial advantage relating to the claims which took place between March and April 2022.

On January 29, 2022, Armstrong registered an Australian Business Number and listed his main business activity as "food delivery for restaurants."

On March 23, 2022, he successfully lodged a quarterly business activity statement (BAS) via the ATO website for the period of January 1 until March 31 2022, and received a refund of $11,225 on March 29.

Then between March 29 and April 4, 2022, Armstrong amended that BAS four times through the ATO website, which resulted in the tax office depositing a further $49,867 in his bank account.

In addition to that, on March 22, 2022 he submitted a false claim to Services Australia for the Australian government disaster relief payment claiming he lived in a flood affected region - Tweed Heads - and that his home had suffered flood damage.

Armstrong claimed the floodwaters were at "knee height" with the interior of the home sustaining significant flood damage and all furniture and appliances ruined.

He claimed his motor vehicle, caravan trailer, shed and water tank were also damaged or destroyed and that he was without utilities and his food was spoiled.

He claimed there to be $21,000 worth of damage to his home, $21,000 to his vehicle, $2800 to his electric scooter and $1878 damage to his laptop.

But court documents noted it was not Armstrong's actual address, with the property owned by the Department of Housing and rented to another person since 1991.

However, he was partially successful in his claim with the ATO still providing $3000 to his bank account in response to the request.

But there was more fraud to come, with Armstrong amending the BAS a further eight times between April 9 and 16, 2022 to claim a further $123,855 from the tax office.

This time however, the refunds were stopped by the ATO before they could be issued to him.

Court documents reveal Armstrong never did run a genuine business during the period stated and that he "created the entity and registered for GST for the sole purpose of obtaining fraudulent refunds from the ATO."

On April 20, 2022, an audit letter from the ATO to Armstrong advised the ATO had "recently noticed unusual refund activity."

The ATO said after taking a closer look they decided the amounts reported were incorrect as the ATO had "no evidence that the offender was carrying on a business".

Armstrong did not respond to the letter and five days later on Anzac Day police legally intercepted a phone call between Armstrong and co-offender about the fraud.

During that conversation Armstrong raised the "ATO thing" and the co-offender said he could "come up with the documents" to fix the problem and that he would help him forge them.

About seven months later on November 22, 2022 NSW Corrective Services took Armstrong to Wagga Police Station but he declined to be interviewed over the offences.

In court this month, Judge Gordon Lerve noted the "substantial" amounts of money involved and said there was "a real degree of sophistication" in the crimes and said the offending fell "within the mid-range of seriousness."

Reflecting on the impact of the fraud, Judge Lerve said "honest taxpayers are the ultimate victims."

Judge Lerve noted the offender attempted to gain a total of $187,947 and observed that "that figure is well beyond the average wage or salary for a worker in Australia."

The court heard no attempt had been made to date to repay any of the money defrauded from the Commonwealth, although Armstrong gave evidence his family has agreed to provide $20,000 with "arrangements" to be made to foot the rest of the $64,092 bill.

Evidence provided by Armstrong maintained he gave a co-accused the money they had agreed on with the remainder to be "spent financing his drug habit".

Looking over Armstrong's criminal history, Judge Lerve noted it was "unenviable" and that it included a wide range of including drug charges, domestic violence related matters and escaping from lawful custody, with convictions dating back to 2010.

The court heard Armstrong was bullied at school and has struggled with his mental health over the years and began using drugs at the age of 16.

Judge Lerve noted he has been in custody multiple times and has remained behind bars continuously since May 2022 where his "mental health has suffered".

A psychologist's report found Armstrong suffers from anxiety and depressive disorders and has also developed PTSD symptoms after he was the victim of a home invasion.

The psychologist found his drug addiction developed as a means of numbing himself from his underlying symptoms.

Taking all these matters into account, Judge Lerve sentenced Armstrong to two years and nine months imprisonment backdated to May 9, 2023.

Part of that sentence will be suspended with Judge Lerve ruling the man will be able to secure his release from August 8, 2024 on paying a $1000 recognisance bond.

Under this arrangement, Armstrong will be required to be of good behaviour for a two-year period and accept supervision and guidance from Community Corrections while also undergoing treatment and counselling for substance abuse and mental health conditions.