A former insurance broker has been found guilty of seven counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception by the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Timothy Charles Pratten, the former managing director of insurance firm Rural and General Insurance Brokers (RGIB), failed to properly declare more than $5 million between 2003 and 2009, using a network of trusts and companies both at home and abroad to cover-up his income, ABC reports.
Pratten fell foul of Operation Wickenby, which was established by the Australian Taxation Office in 2006 to crackdown on offshore tax evasion, and will face sentencing in October which could see him face possible jail time.
The ATO were tight-lipped on the investigation as they told the ABC: "We are currently considering the implications of the decision and won't be commenting at this time."
The investigation into Pratten uncovered a four-seater Robinson helicopter, worth over $250,000, a 45-foot yacht worth more than $260,000 and private school education for Pratten’s daughter worth nearly $100,000.
Pratten was originally found guilty in 2012 and was sentenced to three years six months in prison however a retrail was ordered after the trial judge failed to properly direct the jury, the AFR reported.
Sentencing submissions for Pratten will be heard on October 27.
