Brad Redman fraudulently obtained $613,262 in GST refunds and attempted to secure another $210,000.

But he was caught by the Australia Tax Office and is being made to repay the money on top of his prison sentence.

Redman, who operated a restaurant and gift shop in McLaren Vale, made false claims to the tax office including overstating his total sales and GST-free sales.

He also gave a tax officer a fake document claiming his wife was sick with cancer.

A doctor who had supposedly written the document later told the tax office she never did it.

Tax office assistant commissioner Jade Hawkins said people who cheated the tax system could expect to face serious penalties.

“When you claim a refund that you’re not entitled to, you’re stealing from the community and disadvantaging everyone who does the right thing,” she said.

District Court Judge Liesl Kudelka rebuked Redman as she sentenced him.

“I do not think you grasp the intensity of feeling from hardworking people in the community who have honestly paid their tax who find out that someone such as you has helped themselves to the revenue and spent almost $600,000,” she said.

Redman will be eligible for parole in three years.

-AAP