Greedy mum who stole almost $600,000 from Aussie taxpayers to buy designer items and fund her ‘raging meth habit’ is jailed

A greedy mother-of-two who stole almost $600,000 from taxpayers to buy designer bags and fund her “raging meth addiction” has been jailed.

Tahra Wyntjes, 24, was sentenced to 28 months behind bars in Victoria’s County Court after pleading guilty to obtaining financial advantage by deception.

The Victorian mother conned taxpayers out of an eye-watering $599,349 between May 2021 and January 2022 using an elaborate GST scam.

She submitted a series of false VAT refunds for a bogus cleaning company she first registered with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in 2022.

Wyntjes falsified 27 business activity statements and attempted to steal a further $259,976 from the ATO between January and March 2022.

Investigators continued to contact Gippsland’s mother asking for more information about her claims, but she “provided no assistance.” Herald Sun reports.

Instead, she told authorities that she was “flat out” with her two sons and running her fake cleaning business, but that she would “pass on the information as quickly as possible.”

Investigators discovered the true extent of the mother-of-two’s incessant spending after taking a deep dive into her bank accounts.

Wyntjes spent thousands of taxpayers’ money on designer goods from Gucci and Louis Vuitton and on MenuLog, UberEats, Airbnb, flights and accommodation.

She gave her partner $139,154, sent $18,054 to her mother-in-law and $48,500 to another man, and spent $244,831 on Apple products and $20,458 on Airbnbs.

Wyntjes also used the stolen money to fund a “raging methamphetamine addiction,” the court heard on Wednesday.

Judge Richard Maidment said it was a crime of ‘sheer greed and opportunism’.

“All the money was spent on yourself and your own leisure expenses, and not on anything to do with cleaning equipment or cleaning services,” he said.

“Some of the other money has really been wasted… you’ve been doing your own expenses and giving money to your partner… all that money seems to have disappeared somehow…”

Wyntjes was given a prison sentence of up to four years with a non-parole period of two years and four months and was ordered to repay the ATO.

The court heard her partner will ‘bear the burden’ of putting her behind bars.

A greedy mother-of-two (pictured) who stole more than $500,000 from Australian taxpayers to buy designer bags and fund her ‘raging meth addiction’ has been jailed

Victoria’s Acting Deputy Commissioner Jade Hawkins said the sentence served as a warning to those who tried to defraud the government.

‘Our message remains clear. If you don’t have a business, you don’t need an ABN and you can’t claim a GST refund. This is fraud,” Ms Hawkins said.

“Not only did this person submit statements of fraudulent activity, but she also created a fake company to claim VAT refunds she was not entitled to.”

The ATO has taken action against 57,000 alleged offenders who have been hit with a total of more than $300 million in fines and interest since September 30.