A bravery award winner who helped rescue an elderly woman from her burning home has pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer of almost $500,000 in a spectacular fall from grace.
Nick Karagiannis, 44, a father of three, appeared at New South Wales Government House alongside state Governor Margaret Beazley in 2021 to accept a commendation for gallant conduct, the fourth-highest honor among gallantry awards. from Australia.
The award is given for “an act of bravery worthy of recognition”, which Karagiannis achieved by helping a terrified 72-year-old woman, Trena Kerakoski, escape her burning home in Homebush, in Sydney’s inner west, in 2014. .
Karagiannis was later praised online for his actions and gave inspiring speeches about his charitable works to schoolchildren.
He told The Greek Herald in 2021 that he had noticed the house on fire while returning to his workplace and ran to rescue the elderly woman.
‘I knew the residents who lived there: there was the grandmother, the grandfather, the daughter and the granddaughter. “I saw the grandmother grab a garden hose and run back to the house in an attempt to put out the flames,” he told the publication.
“So I ran after her and quickly got her to safety a minute before the roof of the house caved in.”
But now his role in defrauding his former employer, Suttons Motor Group, of almost $500,000 has been revealed in the New South Wales District Court.
Nick Karagiannis, 44, a father of three, appeared at New South Wales Government House (pictured) alongside the state’s governor, Margaret Beazley, to accept a commendation for gallant conduct, the fourth highest honour. high among Australia’s bravery decorations.
As reported by the Sydney Morning Heraldwhile working as general manager of Suttons Motor Group in Homebush, Karagiannis caused a $475,675 financial disadvantage to the company between 2016 and 2019 when he began allowing customers to pay for cars through his personal bank account.
In agreed facts presented to the court, Karagiannis would secure new car sales by paying a higher price to customers for trade-ins of their used cars. He then attempted to hide the losses by “juggling” clients’ money and his own funds to cover the shortfall through his personal account.
While Karagiannis later reimbursed Suttons, he was unable to keep up with payments for three years until the company noticed the discrepancy.
A New South Wales Police investigation then found 114 registration numbers matching 179 deposits into Karagiannis’ personal account, totaling about $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 the car dealership’s CEO, Craig Sutton, asked Karagiannis who customers had been paying.
He told his boss that customers had been transferring money to his account or giving him checks.
“So I paid for other cars with it, so I’ve been juggling since July 17,” Karagiannis said, assuring Mr. Sutton that the money would be repaid upon receiving a loan.
The CEO told him that customers were under the false impression that they were paying into the company’s account.
Karagiannis responded 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 still owed $475,675 when his “deceptive” practice was discovered. He gained no financial advantage from the practice.
The agreed facts presented to the court establish that Karagiannis did not “participate in the scheme for his personal enrichment” but that he deceived.
In a police interview, he alleged that the company’s accounts department knew of his actions and said that while he did not gain any financial advantage from the practice, he did owe the outstanding money.
Karagiannis pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception. He will be sentenced in November.
