A jet-setting beauty queen who enjoys showing off her lavish lifestyle online is facing intense scrutiny in Australia as the country's tax department continues to chase her company over unpaid debt.
Moraya Wilson, a 22-year-old Melbourne-based model who was crowned Miss Universe Australia in 2023, has been documenting her European travels on social media despite reports the Australian Taxation Office is actively seeking over NZ$14,000 in unpaid tax from one of her companies.
In an exclusive report, news.com.au on Wednesday said Wilson is listed as the sole director of 10 deregistered companies involved in property development, construction and hospitality.
According to the outlet, one of the companies Wilson had been director of currently owes AU$13,204 (NZ$14,145) to the Australian Taxation Office. It understands the office has been chasing the debt as recently as this year.
Citing the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), an investigation by news.com.au found that companies run by Wilson's parents, Anton and Melinda Wilson, owe more than AU$45 million to creditors following multiple liquidations, including approximately AU$21 million to the tax office.
In October last year, ASIC had all 10 of Wilson's businesses removed from the business registry. The 22-year-old has previously denied any knowledge or involvement in the companies to news.com.au, and said she had "tendered [her] resignation" from each of them.
At the end of last year, a change.org petition was launched calling for Wilson to step down as Miss Universe Australia due to public concerns around her business affairs.
As per news.com.au, her father Anton went bankrupt in 2017, which was meant to last for a three-year period. However, this was extended due to allegations he had not complied with requests from his bankruptcy trustee. He was charged with knowingly signing a false declaration and for defrauding creditors of a bankrupt, with a warrant issued for him to appear at the Melbourne Magistrate's Court.
The bankruptcy trustee overseeing the case, Nicholas Crouch of the insolvency firm Crouch Amirbeaggi, alleged Anton Wilson's daughter Moraya was listed as the sole director of the 10 companies to allow the family business to continue despite the bankruptcies.
"This is insane," Crouch previously told news.com.au. "This is madness. Just pay your bills."
Melbourne businessman Nick Caple - one of the creditors in Anton Wilson's bankruptcy case - is reportedly owed millions from one of the failed businesses, according to a civil court order.
"There is a pot of gold somewhere," Caple claimed to the outlet. "How else do you put four kids through private school and rent AU$3500 per week houses while bankrupt? The authorities have not helped one iota."
Despite the controversy surrounding her family's financial woes, Wilson has been busy jet-setting across Europe and sharing her glamorous trips to London, Paris and Amsterdam with her 116,000 followers on Instagram.
At the time of writing, her most recent post announced she would be modelling for Australian fashion designer Alin Le' Kal at the Melbourne Fashion Festival on Wednesday.
Wilson was crowned Miss Universe Australia in Melbourne on September 1 and subsequently represented Australia in the international Miss Universe 2023 pageant in El Salvador on November 18. She placed third, or 'second runner-up', behind current Miss Universe Sheynnis Palacios from Nicaragua and first runner-up Anntonia Porsild of Thailand.
At the time of publishing, the change.org petition - titled, 'Calling For Miss Universe Australia Moraya Wilson To Step Down' - has amassed 521 signatures.
The person behind the campaign has claimed Wilson "is not fit to represent Australia", citing recent coverage of her family's alleged tax evasion.
"I believe Moraya Wilson should step down from her position as Miss Universe Australia because she has misrepresented herself and is not fit to represent Australia," the petition reads.
"In light of the recent reports... her actions do not align with the Miss Universe message."
