A Melbourne tradie has been sentenced to six months in prison with multiple counts of fraud after he received a job but never carried out the work.
According to news.com.au, who conducted their own investigation, it was in 2022 that tradesman Paul Koustoulidis accepted a job and deposit to build a pergola but disappeared before getting started.
40-year-old father Mark Baghdassarian and his partner paid Koustoulidis $12,200 but after a bit of work in their backyard that saw him dig five holes and demolish several plants, he disappeared and stopped returning their calls.
It has also been reported that just days before ghosting the couple, he insisted he was a “good kid” and that he wasn’t “shonky”.
Allegations emerged from others who came forward saying they too had paid for construction work that was never completed.
Koustoulidis was arrested over 46 counts relating to fraud and at the end last month, on February 29, he pleaded guilty to 17 of the charges.
The charges include 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.
He’ll now serve six months behind bars and a further year under a community correction order once released.
The news of Koustoulidis’ sentencing was a relief to Baghdassarian.
“I am relieved that Paul Koustoulidis has been brought to justice and punished for his crimes towards myself and so many victims like me all around Melbourne,” he told news.com.au.
“It gives me a sense of satisfaction that my persistence with this matter has paid off.”
He added that he believed the man “would have been operating pervasively throughout society, even today” had it not been for the media and police.
When Baghdassarian and his partner wanted to build the pergola in time to enjoy for the summer, they found a man called Johnathan L on Airtasker, who agreed to come over to their Cranbourne East home and give them a quote.
It turns out Jonathan was in fact Paul Koustoulidis, with his shirt bearing the name ‘Paul’ on it and his bank account under his real name.
