Nick Karagiannis, a recipient of one of Australia’s top bravery awards, has pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer, Suttons Motor Group, of almost $500,000.
The 44-year-old father-of-three, who once saved an elderly woman from a house fire back in 9 November 2014, admitted to manipulating the prices of trade-in vehicles at the car dealership where he worked.
Karagiannis, once hailed as a hero, accepted the prestigious Commendation for Brave Conduct from NSW Governor Margaret Beazley at a 2021 ceremony at Government House.
The honour, which is the fourth-highest among Australia’s Bravery Decorations, was awarded for his courageous rescue of 72-year-old Trena Kerakoski from a burning home in Homebush, Sydney, in 2014.
At the time, Karagiannis was widely praised for his bravery and gave motivational speeches to schoolchildren about his charitable work.
Back in 2021, Karagiannis had gained even more popularity deciding to help Meresini Leivere, someone who shared her story of losing nearly $9,000 in a car scam on A Current Affair.
The Greek Australian felt compelled to help being the Team Manager of Crash Claim, and organised a fundraiser to assist Leivere in purchasing a new Hilux, the type of vehicle she was scammed for. Leivere had been working tirelessly to recover the funds, hoping to return to Fiji and pursue her dream of joining the country’s Olympic and World Cup rugby 7’s team.
Karagiannis and his team raised $20,000 through a GoFundMe campaign. Part of the funds went towards buying the Hilux, and an additional $5,000 was given to Leivere as a cheque. Overwhelmed with emotion, Leivere and the Crash Claim team shared heartfelt moments after the donation covered by different media.
However, Karagiannis’ fall from grace became public in the NSW District Court, where it was revealed that he had scammed Suttons Motor Group by inflating the values of trade-in vehicles, defrauding the company of close to half a million dollars.
