Former company director Shaobo Hu, of Melbourne, Victoria, has been sentenced to a 12-month good behaviour bond after being convicted for providing false information to the ATO.

The sentence followed Ms Hu pleading guilty on 28 July 2023 to one charge of attempting to obtain a financial advantage from a Commonwealth entity. 

Ms Hu was a director of Bydcafe Ashburton Pty Ltd (Bydcafe), which owned and operated The Resident Café in Ashburton, Victoria. On 17 October 2018, Ms Hu offered a payment plan to the ATO that included false representations for the purpose of deferring the payment of a debt owed by Bydcafe to the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation.  

ASIC commenced its investigation into Bydcafe after receiving a liquidators report from Bruce Mulvaney of Bruce Mulvaney and Co. Mr Mulvaney was appointed liquidator of Bydcafe on 19 October 2018 and received funding to prepare the report from the Assetless Administration Fund.   

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions prosecuted the matter following a referral from ASIC.

Background  

Attempting to dishonestly obtain a financial advantage by deception from a Commonwealth entity is a contravention of sections 11.1(1) and 134.2(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth). At the time of the alleged offending, when prosecuted in the Magistrates Court, section 134.2(1) carried a maximum penalty of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for two years, or both. 

Ms Hu was sentenced under section 20(1)(a) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).