"There were many stages over the past 15 plus years where you could have taken advice, acted reasonably, acted honestly, listened and negotiated your way through the issue of liability for taxation. The evidence in the trial revealed you to be stubborn and steadfast in your insistence that you didn't owe GST or any other form of tax." Judge Johns said Semmens fall from grace had been "dramatic". Simone Semmens shows off her home in Kooyong Road back in 2000. Credit:Gerry Angelos "You've scaled heights you probably only dreamed of as a 16 or 17 year old trying to make your way in the world. No doubt the way down has not been easy. It's in no small part to your resilience and resourcefulness that I consider your prospects for rehabilitation to be excellent." With time already served and a non-parole period of 14 months, Semmens will be released in August 2020 on a $100 good behaviour bond.

The former beauty queen bought a Toorak home for $1.1 million, purchased the Portsea mansion Noorah for $7.5 million and paid $7.8 million for the historic Rosecraddock estate in Caulfield North. That house had seen the brutal murder of former owner and eccentric millionaire Peter Shellard by his former girlfriend and two drug-addled accomplices. Semmens, seen outside court in June, seemed dismissive of the legal process. Credit:AAP She had Rosecraddock subdivided into seven properties, demolished the Toorak residence and built two apartments, and had two additional homes built on the Portsea cliff-top. All 10 properties were sold for a combined profit of more than $4 million, but no GST was paid by Semmens, who also reneged on payments to tradesmen, suppliers, solicitors and lenders.

Australian Tax Office assistant commissioner Ian Read said the sentence handed to Semmens sent a clear message to those who try to cheat the system and that tax evasion is not a victimless crime. Simone Semmens was 23 when she was crowned Miss Victorian Grocery Industry for 1985. Credit:Fairfax Photographic “This wasn’t a one-off property sale; this is a case of someone deliberately carrying on an

enterprise without meeting their tax obligations. “There are many TV shows that make flipping properties look like a fun and lucrative thing to

do. People also need to be aware of their tax obligations.” Semmens' criminal conduct was first uncovered in 2011 during an ATO audit. Her company Semco Developments Pty Ltd had already collapsed the year before with massive debts and amid a series of law suits.

The Tax Office and Federal Police raided Semmens' Toorak home in 2013 and she was arrested while trying to board a flight to the US in 2015. Simone Semmens was a Channel 7 newsreader. Credit:Ian Maybanks Always immaculately dressed, Semmens appeared dismissive, almost contemptuous, that she was required to return to Australia to stand trial. During a bail application in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in 2015, she claimed the charges had hung over her head "like a sword of Damocles," and insisted there had "clearly been a great deal of misunderstanding." She vowed to "take this opportunity to clear my name, restore my reputation and get on with the rest of my life".

Loading But in a further insult to taxpayers, Semmens's legal team received funding from Victoria Legal Aid, despite her lavish lifestyle in the US which she has called home since 2014. Semmens has lived in several luxury residences, including a $US2.5 million mansion in the exclusive enclave of Lafayette, outside of San Francisco. Using her married name Simone Halstead, she worked for several years as a real estate agent in Santa Barbara, about 150 kilometres north of Los Angeles. Her online profile spruiks her integrity. "Simone Halstead is a savvy, Santa Barbara real-estate professional. With years of experience on both the selling and buying sides of many, multi-million dollar transactions she works with dedication and integrity,'' according to her profile with US firm Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.