Melbourne tradie Paul Koutsoulidis has been sentenced to six months behind bars after being convicted with multiple fraud charges.
According to News.com.au, Mr Koustoulidis last year received a deposit to build a pergola for a client, and never completed the job.
He was discovered by the client, Mark Baghdassarian, on Air Tasker. Mr Koustoulidis went by the name ‘Jonathan.’
Mr Baghdassarian, 40, and his partner, paid Mr Koustoulidis $12,200 for the job, but he disappeared and stopped returning their calls. The only work done by Mr Koustoulidis was digging five holes in their backyard and demolishing several plants.
After this incident, several other clients who had also given Mr Koustoulidis a deposit came forward to complain.
Now, news.com.au revealed that police arrested Mr Koustoulidis over more than 46 counts of charges related to fraud.
On February 29, Mr Koustoulidis was before the courts, where he pled guilty to 17 of those charges. They included three counts of using a false document to prejudice, 11 counts of obtaining property by deception, two counts of theft and one count of theft from shop.
This led to the 6-month jail sentence. Mr Koustoulidis will also face one year under a community corrections order once released from prison.
Source: News.com.au.
