MAITLAND tax agent Michael Unicomb has had his registration canned for a "brazen" and "premeditated" fraud scheme that saw him found guilty of submitting false information about an elderly client to secure a $1.16 million loan to funnel money to himself and an associate.
Given the seriousness of the whole affair, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) terminated his registration and applied the maximum ban of five years, stopping him from reapplying for registration.
TPB chair Ian Klug said the decision reinforces their work to maintain the integrity of the tax profession.
"Mr Unicomb's behaviour was brazen and premeditated - he deliberately submitted false information in a loan application to a bank and only obtained the loan funds because of the deception he practised upon the bank," he said.
"He also deliberately withheld information from us when he knew this would impact his application for renewal of registration as a tax agent.
'We will not accept this type of behaviour from anyone in the tax profession.
"Mr Unicomb has let the system down by making deliberate choices to disregard his obligations as a trusted tax adviser."
Unicomb was convicted in the NSW District Court in March, charged with a criminal offence of fraud in dishonestly obtaining property, a financial advantage or causing financial hardship by deception.
Not only was Unicomb convicted, he failed to notify the TPB of his conviction and sentence, which is required by law.
The TPB claims he also made a false declaration in his application to renew his registration that there were no matters affecting his good fame, integrity and character.
Along with the criminal matter, Unicomb failed to lodge his tax returns for multiple years by their due date, according to the TPB.
The TPB decided his conduct stacked up to multiple, serious breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct, and that he ceased to meet tax practitioner requirements.
