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The brothers were sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to faking forms in an attempt to obtain bank loans.
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Melbourne accountants convicted for falsifying documents
10 October 2022
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Two brothers of a Melbourne accounting firm have received criminal convictions after being found guilty of falsifying Commonwealth documents to obtain bank loans.
Yevgeni Bezhenar (also known as James) and Alexander Bezhenar of Halifax Business Consulting Pty Ltd were convicted after pleading guilty to several charges regarding the creation of false Commonwealth documents.
The pair were convicted, with Yevgeni Bezhenar sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment and his brother six months but both were immediately released on a $1,000 recognisance release order that requires them to be of good behaviour for 18 months.
The ATO was investigating a separate matter that led them to Halifax’s office as well as an employee’s home with search warrants that resulted in the Tax Office launching a subsequent investigation.
The two brothers were found to have commissioned the creation of false Commonwealth documents such as business activity statements (BAS) and notices of assessment (NOA) to obtain bank loans for their business and multiple clients.
In several of the cases, the Bezhenar brothers had paid graphic designer Eugene Vinarsky to digitally alter documents at their request, sometimes doubling their clients’ actual earnings.
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The ATO discovered that Mr Vinarsky went to great lengths to ensure the documents looked legitimate; in one email he reminded Yevgeni Bezhenar to only provide one of the doctored documents in hard copy to avoid someone noticing he had edited the original’s security stamp.
Mr Vinasky was convicted for his role and was sentenced to a 12-month community correction order that requires him to complete 200 hours of unpaid community work.
To anonymously report tax evasion, shadow economy, or criminal activities you can either fill in a tip-off form on the ATO’s website or call 1800 060 062.
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