Real estate agent jailed for bilking clients, colleague
A former Edmonton real estate agent who defrauded clients and a colleague out of more than $100,000 was sentenced on Friday to nearly two years in jail and ordered to repay his victims.
Christo Courelias, 51, was convicted of three counts of fraud over $5,000 after a November 2017 trial when a judge found he’d taken various sums that totalled $112,500 from four people between 2007 and 2009 while he was working as an agent in the Edmonton area.
Courelias was sentenced to two years less a day by Court of Queen’s Bench John Little on Friday. Little also ruled that if Courelias fails to pay back the ordered restitution within three years of his release from jail, he’ll be sent back for an additional two years.
Court heard Courelias’ frauds were distinct, but had some similarities. He persuaded one couple, for whom he’d previously completed several successful transactions, to give him money for nonexistent real estate deals.
He got money out of an inexperienced colleague at his office by offering her career development opportunities to help advance her career, but then used the money for himself.
He told a client, whose condo he sold, that he’d get her a replacement condo that she could eventually buy from him if she paid him the $12,250 GST charge on the sale. She paid him, but it turned out there was no condo.
Crown prosecutor Megan Rosborough called Courelias a “predatory fraudster” while asking for a sentence of two to three years.
Defence lawyer Christopher Luchak argued his client should receive a two-year conditional sentence, and that the court could impose conditions that would ensure Courelias isn’t allowed to be in a position of trust during his sentence.
“Hey, I did the crime, so I have to serve the time,” Courelias said when given the opportunity to address the court before being sentenced.
Nearly in tears, he apologized to his victims, three of whom sat in the courtroom gallery.
“I’m paying the price today,” he said.
When delivering the sentence, Little said that Courelias’ remorse
Hey, I did the crime, so I have to serve the time. I’m paying the price today.
was “non-existent until today.”
Jody Reinsch, who Courelias tricked into paying the GST on the non-existent condo, and who wrote a victim impact statement detailing the financial strain she remains under today, said after the sentence was imposed that she’s glad the case is concluded.
“I wish he would have got longer,” she said.
Real Estate Council of Alberta spokeswoman Natalie Scollard confirmed Friday that Courelias was facing a dozen misconduct allegations when his application for a lifetime withdrawal from the industry was approved in July 2011.