Friday, November 08, 2024

Paolo Vincent Esmaquel, who also goes by the name Angela, Escort hacked Medicare to steal $7m, then spent it at Louis Vuitton and Fendi

A Canadian Tax Lawyer's View On How The CRA Becomes A Victim Of Its Own Incompetence


Paolo Vincent Esmaquel, who also goes by the name Angela, Escort hacked Medicare to steal $7m, then spent it at Louis Vuitton and Fendi


A former escort who ran an elaborate $7 million Medicare fraud empire spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money at luxury goods stores including Louis Vuitton and Fendi.


Paolo Vincent Esmaquel, 38, who also goes by the name Angela, used her IT skills to hack into the Medicare system and steal the money over just seven months, despite being in the grips of a major drug addiction.
On Friday, the County Court of Victoria heard Esmaquel was struggling with gender dysphoria and finding work following her transition when she developed the elaborate scheme, using the genuine accounts of 147 Australians to funnel fake claims into bank accounts she controlled.
More than 1800 individual claims were made between May 20 and December 20 in 2022, resulting in a loss of more than $7.5 million to Services Australia.
Esmaquel also mistakenly transferred a further $200,000 of those fraudulent payments into the bank accounts of the genuine Medicare cardholders before federal police began investigating.
“The scale of this alleged fraud operation was staggering. Stealing money meant for sick people places you at the bottom of the human food chain,” federal minister for government services Bill Shorten told this masthead.
Within weeks of the lucrative scheme beginning, Esmaquel began spending the stolen money on luxury goods and hotels.
On June 5, 2022, Esmaquel travelled to Sydney where she spent more than $10,000 at Louis Vuitton using a bank account in the name of Mark Bonfieni.
Weeks later, she spent more than $12,000 at Burberry in Melbourne, $37,000 at Temelli Jewellers, and paid for accommodation at Crown Towers.
One of her final purchases before her arrest, the court heard, was more than $60,000 at Louis Vuitton, using an account in the name of a Melbourne doctor.
All up police were able to trace $759,000 in spending on luxury items including $160,000 at Louis Vuitton and $50,000 at Fendi.
Esaquel also purchased two Mercedes-Benz vehicles, a Range Rover and a Toyota Kluger.
She was eventually arrested by agents from the Australian Federal Police and Services Australia at an apartment on Mount Alexander Road in Essendon where she was found with large wads of cash in a handbag.
The court heard Esmaquel recently told a psychologist she was living with depression, PTSD, gender dysphoria, and severe substance abuse which contributed to her offending as she desired to feel accepted and needed.
Esmaquel, who was born in the Philippines, had operated a cupcake shop until 2018 when she began increasingly working as an escort and using methamphetamine, GHB, and cannabis daily.
Judge Richard Maidment noted Esmaquel would find prison more onerous than others as she was being housed in a men’s prison.
“It’s a very significant factor in determining the sentence that I should impose on you,” he said.
“[The prosecution submitted] this was sophisticated, protracted, blatant offending motivated by greed... facilitated by thousands of deliberate acts of individual criminality.
“An extremely high amount of money was obtained. It certainly went beyond anything needed to bring you out of an impoverished state.”
Maidment said what made the offending more serious was it required a willingness to exploit an honesty-based system for personal gain which, in turn, left less available money to others for genuine Medicare payments.
He noted that while Esmaquel pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, and dealing with the proceeds of crime, there was very little prospect of her ever repaying the money.
Maidment sentenced Esmaquel to five years and four months jail, with a non-parole period of three years and four months.
With time already served, she will be eligible for release in 2026.
Shorten said the Commonwealth had robust capabilities to stop devious, organised criminals in their tracks.
“The numbers here speak for themselves. This person thought they were a step ahead and that they could take Australia’s healthcare institution for an $7.5 million ride,” he said.
“They thought they could throw the authorities off their scent by using hundreds of stolen identities and bogus bank accounts. They were wrong.
“The message is simple, if you think you can defraud our public institutions and get away with it, think again.”

A greedy criminal who was part of a syndicate that stole $7.5m in fraudulent MediCare benefits blew the money on fancy cars, handbags and flash gear from the top end of town.

Imran AliImran Ali

A key player in a Melbourne criminal syndicate that stole $7.5m and splurged it on luxury female fashion items, hotels and cars has been jailed for more than five years.
Paolo Esmaquel pleaded guilty to charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception and dealing with proceeds of crime in the County Court after she and her cohorts lashed out on at high-end stores such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry and at Crown Towers Melbourne
Esmaquel was part of what Judge Richard Maidment described as an “elaborate and carefully constructed fraudulent scheme” where 1858 MediCare claims were lodged using the identity of 147 customers without their knowledge as he jailed the crook for five years and four months.
Services Australia paid out $7.5m into bank accounts controlled either by Esmaquel or an associate between May and December 2022.
Judge Maidment said among purchases Esmaquel made included $46,380 at Fendi at Chadstone, $37,735 at Temelli Jewellery, $54,000 at Louis Vuitton stores across Melbourne, $14,500 at Harvey Norman in Preston, $12,740 at Burberry and $7929 at Sofitel Melbourne.
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Fraudster Paolo Esmaquel splashed tens of thousands of fraudulently obtained money on luxury goods from the likes of Louis Vuitton.
She also purchased two Mercedes, a Range Rover and a Toyota Kluger from the ill-gotten gains.
“It’s difficult to exclude the possibility of others being covertly involved in the planning, direction or execution of such an elaborate scheme,” Judge Maidment said.
“No more than a very small number of people were identified by investigators as participants in or beneficiaries from the offending and none of them appeared to have any directorial or executive function in its creation or operation. 
“The role of those persons identified was plainly less significant than yours. Evidence demonstrated you were a very substantial financial beneficiary, spending substantial sums of money freely and extravagantly on luxury goods.”
Paolo Esmaquel paid nearly $8000 to stay at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins St.
Esmaquel told a psychologist that she offended as part of a syndicate of “approximately 15 to 18 people” and one of her reasons for the crime was her desire to “feel needed” and her “lack of purpose”
She was arrested when Australian Federal Police and officials from Services Australia executed a warrant at a house on Mt Alexander Rd in Essendon in December 2022 and found Esmaquel with a significant number of $50 notes.
She will be eligible for parole in three years and four months.
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$144K tax fraudster jailed

A food-delivery driver who defrauded the Australian Taxation Office of nearly $145,000 with a “non-existent” business has been jailed. 

Melanie Hooimeyer, 25, pleaded guilty to obtaining a financial advantage by deception from a Commonwealth entity as well as a failed attempt of the same. 

Between March-September 2022, Hooimeyer submitted seven Business Activity Statements (BAS) to the ATO, claiming a total of $144,648 in false GST refunds. 

She splurged the cash on cars, car repairs, clothes, furniture and household goods. 

“(The offending) was not for need rather than greed,” sentencing judge Damian Murphy said on 30 October. 

As a sole trader with a registered ABN, she falsely asserted more than $1.7 million in purchases for a “non-existent” business. She claimed her main source of income was salary and wages. 

“The BASes contained false information as you were not operating a business and had not incurred GST and thus were not entitled to the refunds,” Judge Murphy said. 

She told an interview that she had been working as a Menulog delivery driver – which doesn’t attract any GST. 

Hooimeyer got involved in the “relatively sophisticated” scheme through housemates, who were car enthusiasts and crims. 

Her first three claims were assisted by a third party, the final five were her own work. 

Her rorting stopped only after her last claim for a further $15,454 was refused by the ATO. 

Born in Sale, Hooimeyer was raised in a strict Christian family in Cranbourne. 

She dropped out of school with depression, social anxiety and poor self-esteem, and had been subjected to workplace bullying as a spray-painting apprentice. 

Hooimeyer told police at the time she’d been kicked out of accommodation and was living in her car. 

An unemployed single parent, she’d repaid little of the defrauded sum. 

A defence lawyer argued that she shouldn’t be jailed due to being separated from her child. 

Due to give birth to a second child in April 2025, she has elected to not raise her first child in prison. The child will be raised by Hooimeyer’s mother. 

Judge Murphy noted her guilty plea, remorse and good rehabilitation prospects. 

Hooimeyer had no prior criminal record, and didn’t use a false name or identity during the fraud. 

However Judge Murphy said a heavy punishment was required despite her personal circumstances. 

“At the end of the day, however, this particular aspect of our taxation system relies on the honesty and cooperation of taxpayers,” Judge Murphy said. 

“You breached that trust by your conduct and defrauded the Commonwealth of a very significant amount of money.” 

Hooimeyer was jailed for up to 18 months. In eight months, she will be eligible for a recognizance release order of $500 and two-year good behaviour bond. 

She was ordered to repay the outstanding $143,754.66 owed to the Commonwealth.



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