Melbourne accountant Jordan Arvanitakis has avoided jail after attempting to defraud the Victorian Government of $260,000 in small business Covid grants during the height of the pandemic.
According to The Herald Sun, the 59-year-old was sentenced in the County Court on Thursday, June 5 to a two-year community corrections order, including 220 hours of unpaid work, after pleading guilty to multiple counts of deception.
Between April and June 2020, Arvanitakis submitted 26 fraudulent applications for $10,000 grants on behalf of clients through the Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions. He admitted to amending BAS statements and falsifying documents using the ATO business portal.
Although he retained $47,758 to cover outstanding client fees, Arvanitakis later fully cooperated with investigators, citing “coercive pressure” from desperate clients trying to survive the economic downturn.
Judge Sarah Leighfield described his actions as “persistent and calculated,” but acknowledged a “Robin Hood-like quality” to the offending.
“It was not motivated by greed… but desire on your behalf to assist your clients to navigate their way through and survive the pandemic,” she said.
Arvanitakis was ordered to repay the $47,758 and was noted for showing “genuine remorse,” supported by character references from his wife, mother, and parish priest who described him as “selfless, kind, and compassionate.”
Source: The Herald Sun
