The son of a former deputy taxation commissioner felt like a disappointment even before he ripped off Australian taxpayers for millions of dollars.
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The same taxpayers will pay to house and clothe Adam Cranston during his inevitable jail sentence after funding a senior barrister to argue in the NSW Supreme Court on his behalf.
The 36-year-old was found guilty in March of money laundering and conspiring to commit tax fraud along with four others.
The group includes Cranston's younger sister Lauren, jailed at least five years for her lesser role in the syndicate.
His childhood friend Patrick Willmott has been jailed for at least six years, while corrupt lawyer Dev Menon has been handed a prison term of at least nine years.
They conspired in the Plutus Payroll scam, which siphoned $105 million from the tax office between 2014 and 2017 - when the Cranstons' father Michael was deputy commissioner.
He was cleared of any wrongdoing in 2019 and did not come to court on Wednesday, when his son appeared on-screen wearing prison greens and a crucifix.
Cranston struggled at school, barely made it to university and did not finish his degree, although he always managed to find a job, his barrister John Stratton SC said.
As the son of a deputy tax commissioner, "it seems he felt he was a disappointment", Mr Stratton added.
There was also evidence of Cranston having conditions including ADHD and imprisonment could pose problems accessing his required "stimulant medical treatment".
However, crown prosecutor Raelene Sharp KC said there was no evidence Cranston's ADHD or other diagnoses had materially contributed to or caused his offending.
His conduct in the conspiracy was extended and sophisticated, and he took targeted steps that did not reflect impulsivity, she said.
Ms Sharp also disputed that Cranston felt "trapped" in the conspiracy before deciding he was "in for a penny, in for a pound".
"He'd been in for a pound from the start," she said.
"That was the entire purpose of the scheme from the outset."
Cranston had also not grappled with the effect of his offending beyond the immediate effect on his family, Ms Sharp said.
He pleaded not guilty and continued to assert his innocence, but told a doctor he was remorseful and ashamed, the court heard.
Cranston received about $6.8 million from the scheme, which was less than some others had derived, his barrister said.
Justice Anthony Payne said Cranston was in charge of Plutus's second-tier companies, which were the "real engine" of the whole scheme.
Ms Sharp argued it did not matter if Cranston was "kept in the dark" by some said to be higher in the scheme's hierarchy about how the scam achieved its aims.
"He knew the purpose of the scheme was to siphon off funds and simply retain the (taxes)," she said.
Justice Payne noted much time and money had been spent pursuing and prosecuting the conspirators, the partial point of which was to send a message to anyone tempted to attempt a similar scheme.
A sentencing hearing in May was delayed due to a dispute over whether NSW would pay about $50,000 for Cranston's continued legal representation after the Commonwealth briefly withdrew funds, before reinstating financial support.
While hearing sentencing submissions for the remaining Plutus co-conspirator, Jason Onley, 53, on Wednesday, Justice Payne said none of the scheme's perpetrators had accepted the theft of $105 million from the wider community was a terrible thing.
Onley had come closest to recognising that, he added.
"It's a step in the right direction," Justice Payne said.
Cranston and Onley are due to be sentenced on Tuesday.
Australian Associated Press
