Lauren Cranston, daughter of ex-ATO deputy commissioner, is jailed for at least five years 

The daughter of a former deputy tax commissioner who was a ‘trusted participant’ in one of Australia’s biggest fraud schemes has been sentenced to at least five years in prison.

Lauren Cranston, 30, still doesn’t believe she did anything wrong, said Judge Anthony Payne, who on Monday handed down her eight-year sentence in the NSW High Court for her role in the Plutus Payroll conspiracy.

She will be eligible for parole in March 2028 with a non-parole term of five years.

She was found guilty in March of conspiracy to cause loss to the Commonwealth and dealing with the proceeds of crimes worth more than $1 million, along with four others, including her older brother Adam Cranston, after a massive trial that ended in April 2022 started.

Legitimate customers, attracted by the lack of service fees, sent money to Plutus Payroll to pay wages, taxes, and super.

Instead, the money was funneled through second-rate companies run by “unsophisticated and vulnerable people” who didn’t understand them, Judge Payne said Monday.

More than $141 million was funneled through the scheme, shifting more than $105 million that should have been paid to the IRS.

It was not a victimless crime, Judge Payne said, in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The loss of more than $100 million that would otherwise have been available to fund government services is a very significant loss incurred by all Australians,” he said.

The conspiracy came about during meetings in “gentlemen’s clubs,” which Cranston was unaware of and did not participate in.

Cranston acted out of misplaced loyalty to her older brother, Adam (left)

While she was not involved in the initial planning phase, she knowingly remained involved in the conspiracy from at least February 2015 as a “trusted participant,” the judge said.

She acted according to instructions but understood its operation and knew she played a central role in facilitating money laundering and tax fraud conspiracies, which she also sought to conceal.

By the time authorities listened in, she showed her knowledge of the plan’s history.

“At least we pay some taxes,” Cranston said.

Cranston earned about $182,000 primarily from participating at the bottom of the conspiracy hierarchy out of misplaced loyalty to her older brother, the judge said. However, she has shown no remorse.

“The perpetrator still appears to believe that she and her co-conspirators have done nothing wrong,” the judge said.

Cranston appeared in court via audiovisual link, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her green prison jersey as Judge Payne delivered his sentencing remarks before sobbing as the judge left court.