Willis Meehan, a former NRL forward turned boxer, has been sentenced after he admitted to trying to defraud the Australian government of almost $100,000.
A 2013 Australian Schoolboys representative and member of the 2014 NYC Team of the Year, Meehan was touted for big things in the game of rugby league but only played one NRL match for the Sydney Roosters in 2014 before being sacked by the club less than 12 months later.
Compared to dual-code New Zealand international Sonny Bill Williams, he also spent time with the Manly Sea Eagles and Parramatta Eels, but multiple off-field issues hindered his career.
According toย The Daily Telegraph, Meehan - along with Aaron Wynn - has confessed to conspiring with Hells Angels Parramatta chapter boss Mustafa Hafizi to defraud the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) of $81,597.
Pleading guilty to conspiring to dishonestly obtain a gain from the Commonwealth, Meehan has been handed a good behaviour bond after Judge Sophia Beckett sentenced him to nine months in jail, but agreed to immediately release him from custody on a Commonwealth recognisance bond, per the publication.
โIt is trite to say that tax fraud is not a victimless crime but is a form of corruption and therefore is recognised to be insidious,โ Beckett said.
Away from the NRL field, Meehan was also a professional boxer in which he recorded a 12-0 record (ten wins by KO/TKO) which earned him the nickname 'The Hitman'.
