The $60 million tax probe, the Qld sports facilities, and the OnlyFans creator
A $5,000 payment to an OnlyFans creator in early 2023 triggered the beginning of a costly affair.
By August 2024, payments from the family business behind many sporting venues in Queensland had skyrocketed to almost $160,000. There was $12,500 for a “birthday gift,” thousands of dollars for “assistance” and “fees,” and another identified simply as “Xoxo” in Federal Court documents.
The transactions were uncovered by a wider undercover investigation into a Queensland man, his wife and his community sports business.
The imprint can reveal the Australian Taxation Office is investigating a total of more than $60 million in unpaid tax on the couple after the Federal Court ordered millions of dollars in assets to be frozen.
Colin James Kinnest, 36, and his wife Ashlee Maree Kinnest, 37, and sports facilities in Queensland, including QIA centers in Springwood, Browns Plains, Strathpine and Bundaberg, are at the center of the investigation involving OnlyFans creator Bridget Jean Faith Cotter, 21.
Colin James Kinnest and his wife Ashlee Maree Kinnest photographed at the Bundaberg Indoor Sports Center in 2020. Credit: Bundaberg Regional Council
The investigation is currently focusing on 18 properties between three individuals and businesses; dozens of payments are being reviewed; These include acquisitions by Kinnests’ company at Tiffany and Co for more than $178,000.
In Federal Court documents obtained by this imprint, the ATO alleged that business statements by Bundaberg Indoor Sport, Kinnest Family Pty Ltd and Kinnest-owned Bundaberg Junior Indoor Sports contained false and misleading information.
The ATO alleges that Kinnest’s three entities deliberately over-reported their sales, GST on sales and trustworthy GST purchases to receive refunds to which they were not entitled.
OnlyFans creator
Looking at how the ATO assesses OnlyFans creators, Cotter was identified by the watchdog as having a “personal or transactional relationship” with Mr Kinnest.
Documents state Cotter, a 21-year-old dental assistant who lives on the Gold Coast, received $220,000 from OnlyFans over 118 transactions between May 2022 and July 2025.
The Kinnest Family made 22 payments to Cotter between January 31, 2023 and August 29, 2024, totaling approximately $160,000.
“Colin may have subscribed to one or more creators’ accounts on OnlyFans because he frequently makes payments to OnlyFans,” the ATO said in the documents.
The largest payment to Cotter was $29,000, in reference to a ‘jetski’. $9,000 was paid for camping equipment in January 2024, $10,000 was paid for ‘assistance’ in April 2024, and $14,500 was paid for ‘help plus fee’ in May.
Some of the transactions were described as ‘Xoxo’, ‘Birthday Gift’, ‘Earring’ and many were listed as ‘Bridget Jean Helping’. One of the ‘relief’ payments was $15,000.
OnlyFans content creator Bridget Jean Faith Cotter.Credit: instagram
In July 2024, Cotter was paid $7500 for ‘fees and booze’, and in August he was paid $1000 for ‘Wet and Wild assistance’.
The smallest transaction was about $100 for movie tickets.
In July last year, two businesses in Kinnests received more than $3.5 million in net business activity statement (BAS) refunds.
Around the same time, a Madison Road property at Coomera on the Gold Coast was identified for $867,000 and Cotter became the owner.
Cotter was listed as residing at the property, according to court documents filed in September. The ATO also said the facility was a 4.5-hour drive from Thabeban, Mr Kinnest’s registered address with ASIC. But it was also highlighted that there were other properties close to the Coomera property, some as close as 31 minutes away. There was no record of Mr. Kinnest receiving rental income.
Mr. Kinnest’s personal life “is none of my business,” Cotter told this imprint.
“I do my thing, chat, sell, make money just like I do with other subscribers on my OnlyFans – that’s what it’s about,” he said in a statement.
Frozen
The couple’s finances and their business were frozen following an application from the ATO, with exceptions allowing the family to pay $20,000 towards legal fees and $1,000 towards weekly living expenses. Cotter’s Gold Coast property was also frozen as part of the orders.
The ATO claims that prices for commercial services are low and cannot be explained by references to sales reported in the submissions.
Between 2022 and 2024, venues reported mixed indoor netball at $80 per seven-man team and indoor cricket at $100 per eight-man team. The ATO said Bundaberg Indoor Sports reported sales of approximately $240,000 it would need to service the equivalent of 2,9887,322 netball teams or 2,389,857 indoor cricket teams.
The ATO said the reported sales were described as “excessive and out of character” for small businesses managing sports field rentals in the Queensland region.
‘The tax misbehavior of Colin, BIS, BJIS and the Kinnest family demonstrated an intention, willingness and ability to evade the payment of correct tax over an extended period of time to gain financial advantage.’
ATO
When the ATO notified BIS and BJIS that it had conducted an audit, BIS stated that Kinnest Family and BJIS had each filed business activity returns for subsequent periods and reported “a significant deviation in GST sales which forced them to pay a GST shortfall to the ATO for the first time”. They were also not entitled to a refund for the first time.
The documents state that one of the companies is not a “corporate” for a number of reasons, including not having a bank account in Australia, not appearing to have an online presence and not having any property registered in its name.
Mr. Kinnest did not report receiving wages or salaries as a director of this company. The ATO said the company appeared to be copying Bundaberg Indoor Sport’s trading presence, suggesting that trading activities could be used to justify, disguise or otherwise conceal a lack of trading activity.
The ATO went further, arguing that even if there were warrants to seize property, this would not be enough to compensate for the damage.
Real estate
According to court documents, between August 2023 and August 2024, Mr. Kinnest purchased nine properties with a total value of $5,920,000.
Between October 2024 and June 2025, he sold three of his properties for almost $2 million.
Between June 2022 and August 2023, his wife purchased seven properties with a total value of $2,579,000.
Two properties with an approximate value of nearly one million were also purchased in the name of the company.
The ATO alleges Mr Kinnest’s mortgage transactions and property sales were made after the watchdog began contacting him and his companies in August 2024.
“Mr Kinnest has already sold three of the nine properties he acquired using funds traceable to net BAS repayments and placed registered mortgages on the remaining six,” the ATO said.
“Specifically, each of these disposals took place after Mr Kinnest was contacted by the Commissioner of Taxation and asked to provide information and details regarding the GST refunds claimed.”
The ATO is currently investigating 18 properties, including Cotter’s Gold Coast property.
kinnest family
The couple appear to be an active part of the Bundaberg community and have had several articles detailing plans to improve the council’s sports facilities.
Bundaberg Regional Council’s 2020 statement detailed how the couple embarked on an extensive renovation program that transformed the Bundaberg Indoor Sports Centre.
“We have wanted to make the tapestries and nets for a long time, but we couldn’t afford to do it as it was such a big job and the only time I closed was at Christmas.”
Mr. Kinnest has a bachelor’s degree in business and finance, according to his online profiles.
The couple has been contacted for comment.
Other financial transactions
Court documents detail a long list of transactions, including luxury goods worth more than $218,000. In an example transaction listed by the ATO, $178,750 was spent at Tiffany Co Australia.
ATO investigations show BIS withdrew $11,309,879.46 from his bank account, excluding property purchases. The total amount withdrawn for the Kinnest Family was $25,528,239.20.
A cash transfer of $157,248 was made to Cotter from the Kinnest Family, along with a sample of a $7,000 birthday gift.
Other financial dealings listed by the ATO include $213,000 in vehicles, $188,587 in entertainment and gambling (including $9,310 at Bundaberg Golf Club), more than $425,000 in property investments and capital works and around $22 million in miscellaneous business experience.
The case is pending in court.
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