Peter Chang, 45, was the one who didn't get away.

On Tuesday the former finance chief of Chinese construction company Hightrade entered a guilty plea to conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth of nearly $16 million between 2004 and 2008, during construction of the Pokolbin golf course resort known as Resort Hunter Valley.

Hightrade head Li Zhang, 54, and associate Simon Chan were named in court documents as alleged co-conspirators.

Chang, who was jailed for five years in 2016 for Hightrade fraud crimes involving Sydney properties, is the first and only Hightrade executive to be convicted after Mr Zhang and Mr Chan fled the country in 2009. This followed the launch of an Australian Taxation Office investigation of nearly 40 of Hightrade's 100 companies for tax fraud and "phoenixing" – where companies are liquidated to avoid creditors and are rebirthed under new names to start again.

Li Zhang's flight from Australia occurred in the middle of a Federal Court case in which a judge threatened contempt proceedings against Hightrade executives over an attempted sale or transfer of the Pokolbin resort to make it difficult for the ATO to recover $50 million in tax and penalties.

Chang pleaded guilty to a scheme where construction supplier costs were grossly inflated in order to generate goods and service tax refunds for a Hightrade development company. Another Hightrade company supplied materials, so that accumulated liabilities on accrued invoices could be written off when a Hightrade company was wound up. The court was told when unfurnished apartments were being sold, material costs were also falsified to offset GST payable by the Hightrade development company as part of the sale.

Chang prepared and lodged fraudulent Business Activity Statements that cost the ATO nearly $3.1 million in the Sydney case, and nearly $16 million in the Resort Hunter Valley case. He was sentenced to five years jail after a Sydney District Court judge found he played a key role in the fraud scheme over a number of years and lacked contrition for his crimes.

Hightrade cut a trail of destruction through the Hunter while working on some of the region's biggest construction projects between 2004 and 2010, including Resort Hunter Valley at Pokolbin, Sky Central at Charlestown and a number of apartment buildings in Newcastle.

Its history includes Hunter building subcontractor and supplier losses in the tens of millions of dollars, substandard building work on major project sites, visa scams, a damning Cessnock Council investigation over its associations with the company, the resignation of a NSW Labor MP for failing to disclose benefits he received from Hightrade, union protests, Immigration Department raids, and strident criticism of Australian regulators for failing to act.

Chang's convictions in 2016 and 2017 come a full decade after building subcontractors and suppliers in the Hunter, the Central Coast and Sydney first complained that they, and taxpayers, were being taken for a ride.

News of his convictions, seven years after the Hightrade group effectively left the Hunter region and closed up shop in Australia, prompted bemused and angry responses from businessmen who lost tens, and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars after dealing with Hightrade companies.

Former Wallaby Mick Martin, who complained to the Australian Tax Office in 2006 after he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars when several Hightrade companies were wound up during construction of a Hunter resort, was still disgusted at the slow response of Australian regulators.

"I did the right thing and I'm still paying for what happened back then, and I'm only one story," Mr Martin said.

"It's taken 10 years to get some form of justice for what happened, and there's only one of them been charged. All these small businesses obeyed the law and lost out, and these big businesses get away with it.

"We told them [regulators] what was going on and they still didn't get it," he said.

Chang, 44, was Hightrade finance adviser, and director or shareholder of 10 Hightrade companies including Merewether Wharf Pty Ltd and Sky Central Pty Ltd, the Hightrade company behind Charlestown's Sky Central towers project that was taken out of Hightrade hands by the ANZ Bank in 2009 after years of controversy.

Tiler Sam Kim lost $700,000 after Hightrade company Ferro Constructions was wound up in 2009, after Mr Kim supplied labour and supplies to Hightrade's Pokolbin resort, Charlestown's Sky Central project and a Newcastle wharf apartment complex.

While it was "good news" to hear of Chang's convictions, Mr Kim said he "never recovered" from the loss.

How justice was served after 10 years 

2003 – 2005 Hightrade starts two apartment projects in Newcastle, a Pokolbin resort and Sky Central twin towers project at Charlestown.

2004 – Cessnock Council supports Hightrade private university project after China visit by senior council representatives.

2006 – Building subcontractors take legal action over unpaid bills at the Newcastle apartment sites, Pokolbin and Charlestown sites. Hightrade companies wound up owing millions of dollars to creditors including the Australian Tax Office. New Hightrade companies resume work at sites.

December 2006 – Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon raises concerns about Hightrade in federal parliament.

2008 – Cessnock Council receives mystery $400,000 payment after a Hightrade company collapse leaves the council a creditor. Department of Local Government launches investigation.

2009 – Federal Court judge blasts Hightrade and the Australian Tax Office after the ATO agreed to withdraw and dismiss proceedings against Hightrade in pursuit of $50million in taxes and penalties. The ATO said it was "looking at other options to secure the debt". Li Zhang is no longer in Australia.

2009 – Construction union boss Andrew Ferguson attacks the federal Labor government for failing to stop the "carnage" caused by Hightrade in the Hunter.

2009 – Australian Tax Office and Australian Federal Police raid five Hightrade sites and seize documents and computers.

2009 – Herald reveals Hightrade visa concerns; Immigration Department raids Hightrade sites and announces it will deport more than 20 illegal workers to China.

2009 – Herald reveals Hightrade's Labor links. NSW MP Henry Tsang resigns after Herald reveals undeclared gifts and benefits from Hightrade.

2009 – ANZ takes over Charlestown Sky Central site.

2010 – NAB takes over Pokolbin resort site.

2013 – Australian Securities and Investments Commission announces former Hightrade company director Con Cockinos is barred from being a company director for three years.

2015 – Hightrade company director Peter Chang becomes the first, and only, Hightrade executive to be charged with tax fraud crimes. Refused bail after found guilty. Li Zhang and Simon Chan named as co-accused.

2016 – Chang sentenced to five years jail.

2017 – Chang pleads guilty to conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth of $16 million between 2004 and 2008 during construction of Pokolbin resort and golf course, Resort Hunter Valley.

The Newcastle Herald