Condo fraudster faces four-year prison sentence
Hamilton Spectator
By Teviah Moro
08 November 2016

BURLINGTON — A 47-year-old con artist who stole $3 million from 13 area condo corporations while posing as a trustworthy property manager faces four years in prison.

have to pay back the funds he swiped

Brett MacKenzie Leahey will also have to pay back the funds he swiped from condo owners in Hamilton and Burlington, court heard Tuesday.

"It was sophisticated. It was 'large-scale fraud.' A breach of trust," Crown prosecutor Harutyun Apel said in a courtroom packed with Leahey's fraud victims.

Leahey, who pleaded guilty Oct. 13, carried out the scam between 2009 and 2014 before Halton police arrested him last year.

The St. Catharines resident used his position as property manager to siphon $3 million from the 13 condo corporations and a business partner.

Leahey did that by receiving payments from condo corporations for work done at other buildings and misdirecting money meant to be invested in GICs, according to an agreed statement of facts.

He also received multiple payments for the same work invoice, falsified information on others, swiped funds meant to cover expenses and made unauthorized payments, including to two construction firms he controlled.

In a victim impact statement, Arthur Joyce said he felt responsible for hiring Leahey to manage his 15-unit complex on Harvester Road in Burlington. "Little did I know that I was getting caught up in a web of lies and deceptions by a predator in our society."

Meg Dorie was among the 38 owners of a Mountain condo building off Concession Street in Hamilton fleeced of about $1 million.

The board of the Summit Avenue building was left with a $450,000 repair backlog for badly done or nonexistent work, Dorie said.

"Would you do that to your sister? Would you do that to your mother? Would you do that to your family?" she asked Leahey, who sat sullenly in the prisoner's box.

John Kousik spoke on behalf of Appleby Woods in Burlington, where he said 60 per cent of the residents in the 101-unit building on Imperial Way are seniors with fixed incomes.

"They did not expect to be confronted with over a million dollars in expenses for repairs, nor be cheated and swindled out of their money by a property manager who breached their trust."

Daniel Hershkowitz was a board member at Highland Mews, a townhouse complex at 1983 Main St. W. in Hamilton, when a window and door project "went awry," leading to a special assessment of about $10,000 per unit.

"I was completely betrayed by Brett Leahey," said Hershkowitz, noting he'd been "gullible" to defend him.

Defence counsel Lorne Sabsay said his client had a turbulent childhood having lived through a series of parental breakups.

"There was virtually no stability in terms of family status for Brett as he grew up."

In a 2009 fraud case, a judge in Toronto gave him a conditional sentence of two years less a day and ordered him to pay $427,942 in restitution.

"It was paid with," Apel said, before Justice Al Cooper finished his thought, saying "the money that came from this fraud."

Sabsay protested, arguing that conclusion hadn't been subject to a "serious discussion."

The Crown and defence have agreed to a four-year sentence, but differ on how long Leahey should be given to pay back the $3 million.

Apel said he should do that in 10 years. Sabsay said 20 years is more appropriate.

Cooper needed time to review documents that were handed to him just Tuesday.

Leahey will be sentenced Nov. 17 at 10 a.m.

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