Delays amid squabble for $50k legal fees in $105m fraud

The man behind one of the most serious tax frauds ever prosecuted in Australia cannot be sentenced until commonwealth and state authorities decide who will pay about $50,000 in legal fees.

A judge has warned he will consider what steps are available to the court if the dispute is not settled, "however unpalatable" they may be.

Adam Cranston was an architect of the Plutus Payroll conspiracy, which funnelled money away from the tax office for years while his father, cleared of wrongdoing in 2019, was the deputy commissioner.

Younger sister Lauren was also in on the scam and was jailed for at least five years earlier in May.

His childhood friend Patrick Willmott was jailed for at least six years on Friday.

Described by Cranston on covert recordings as the "Ben Hur" of tax fraud, Plutus Payroll diverted at least $105 million from government coffers through a web of second-tier companies directed on paper by vulnerable people who did not understand them.

The 36-year-old son of former deputy tax commissioner Michael Cranston was found guilty of conspiring to commit tax fraud and money laundering in March.

Justice Anthony Payne was "flabbergasted" on Thursday when he learned Cranston would no longer receive funding for representation as he approached sentencing.

He ordered transcripts of the hearing, covering the periods he was not "lost for words", be sent to the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus' office and NSW LegalAid.

NSW LegalAid responded ahead of Tuesday's hearing to say it received an application but will not be able to make a decision until June.

A letter from Mr Dreyfus' office was tendered to the court after confirmation its position has not changed.

It outlined the support Cranston has already received and what he requires: funding for some legal fees, psychiatric reports, and a senior barrister and solicitor to prepare for and attend his sentencing.

"So this entire debate is about whether the commonwealth or state should pay about $40,000?" the judge said.

He added the cost could blow out exponentially if a switch to state-funded legal assistance required new counsel be briefed.

About $11,500 is required for other fees on top of $37,000 for the lawyers.

Cranston's crimes involved serious breaches of federal law, but were prosecuted in NSW courts, the judge said, noting NSW also provided legal assistance for already jailed co-conspirators Cranston and Willmott, and for Dev Menon and Jason Onley, who will be sentenced in June.

Adam Cranston is in custody awaiting sentence and appeared in court on-screen.

Money intended for the government instead went on exotic cars, properties, and other assets seized following Cranston's arrest.

Unable to afford a lawyer, or represent himself, Cranston has received commonwealth financial assistance since 2021.

That ended after a marathon nine-month trial established his guilt to a jury that have been relieved of having to sit on another panel for 20 years due to the trial's length

"Having been convicted, I should be moving as soon as I possibly can to sentence Mr Cranston … for one of the most serious tax crimes ever successfully prosecuted in this country," Justice Payne said in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday.

He intends to "send a message to others who might be tempted to steal from the tax system".

"The longer his sentencing is delayed the more diluted that message becomes."

The judge set another hearing on June 13 for an update on whether legal funding has been provided.