Bravery award recipient Nick Karagiannis, who saved an elderly woman from a house fire, defrauds his employer Suttons Motor Group of nearly $500,000
A man who won a bravery award for saving an elderly woman from her burning home has admitted defrauding his employer of nearly $500,000.
Nick Karagiannis, a 44-year-old father of three, has pleaded guilty to charges relating to manipulating the prices of trade-in vehicles at car dealer Suttons.
It is a clear fall from grace for the man who appeared at the NSW Government House with Governor Margaret Beazley in 2021 to receive a Commendation for Brave Conduct; the fourth highest award among the Australian Bravery Decorations.
Karagiannis earned the award by helping 72-year-old Trena Kerakoski escape from her burning home in Homebush in Sydney’s west in 2014.
Karagiannis was subsequently praised online for his actions and gave inspirational speeches about his charity works for schoolchildren.
He told The Greek Herald in 2021 that he saw the burning house when he returned to his workplace and rushed to save the elderly woman.
‘I knew the residents who lived there: the grandmother, grandfather, daughter and granddaughter. “I saw the grandmother grab a hose and run back into the house trying to put out the flames,” he told the publication.
“So I ran after her and quickly got her to safety, just a minute before the roof of the house came in.”
But now his role in defrauding his former employer Suttons of almost $500,000 has been revealed in the NSW District Court.
Nick Karagiannis, a 44-year-old father of three, appeared with Governor Margaret Beazley at the NSW Government House (pictured) to receive a Commendation for Brave Conduct, the fourth highest award among Australia’s Bravery Decorations
As reported by the Sydney Morning HeraldWhile working as a managing director at Suttons Motor Group at Homebush, Karagiannis caused a financial loss of $475,675 to the company between 2016 and 2019 when he began allowing customers to pay for cars through his personal bank account.
According to agreed facts presented to the court, Karagiannis would secure sales of new cars by paying customers a higher price for the trade-in of their used cars. He then tried to hide the losses by “juggling” customers’ money and his own funds to cover the shortfall through his personal account.
While Karagiannis later reimbursed Suttons, he failed to keep up with the refunds for three years until the company noticed the discrepancy.
A NSW Police investigation subsequently found 114 registration numbers corresponding to 179 deposits into Karagiannis’ personal account, totaling approximately $2.5 million.
Over the three years, Karagiannis paid $2 million to Suttons, but still owed $475,675 when the practice was discovered.
The court heard an excerpt from a March 2019 telephone interview in which Craig Sutton, director of the car dealership, asked Karagiannis who customers had paid.
He told his boss that customers had transferred money to his account or given him checks.
“So I’ve been paying for other cars with it, so I’ve been juggling since July ’17,” Karagiannis said, assuring Mr Sutton that the money would be repaid once he received a loan.
The director told him that customers were under the mistaken impression that they were paying the company’s bill.
Karagiannis replied that ‘whether it was mine or yours, they didn’t really care, they trusted me’.
Over three years, Karagiannis (pictured) paid $2 million to Suttons, but he still owed $475,675 when his ‘deceptive’ practice was discovered. He made no financial profit from the practice
Agreed facts filed in court state that Karagiannis did not “participate in the scheme for his personal enrichment,” but that he was deceitful.
In a police interview, he claimed that the company’s accounting department was aware of his actions, and said that although he received no financial benefit from the practice, he was owed the outstanding money.
Karagiannis pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage through deception. He will be sentenced in November.
