Nikolaos Haidaris fronts court over $1m investment fraud
A real estate agent who auctioned a luxury home in Lalor with proceeds going to Nick Kyrgios’ NK Foundation to help underprivileged kids conned an investor of $1.1m
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A disgraced Melbourne real estate agent who auctioned a luxury home in Lalor with the proceeds going to the Nick Kyrgios’ NK Foundation to help underprivileged kids conned an investor of $1.1m to fund his gambling addiction.
Nikolaos Haidaris, 52, formerly of Bentleigh East who now lives in northern NSW, fronted the County Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to a charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and another of obtaining property by deception.
He tricked his victim Andreas Koulouris, who was looking for an investment opportunity in 2017, and lent Haidaris $1.1m in loans to be repaid with interest. Haidaris said he borrowed funds from investors to help developers obtain finance from other lenders.
He repaid only $164,500, leading to him losing his real estate licence and he was also declared bankrupt.
As a director of Haven The Agency, Haidaris auctioned a luxury home in Lalor in 2018, with part of the proceeds going to the NK Foundation for underprivileged kids established by tennis ace Nick Kyrgios.
The court heard that Haidaris blew the ill-gotten gains on gambling and lifestyle.
He came face-to-face with Mr Koulouris who read his victim impact statement in court while sitting directly across from Haidaris.
“Your actions Nikolaos, rooted in selfishness, deception and greed, have devastated my life in ways you cannot likely even fathom,’’ Mr Koulouris said.
“You have destroyed relationships that were once central to my life. My wife has left me, thank you very much, and I see my kids only twice a week.
“The thought that you used my hard-earned money for your own indulgences is a daily torment. My wife and I spent years building a future and within months you erased it.
“I don’t hate you Nikolaos. I pity you. You are nothing and one thing remains. You still owe me the money,” he said.
Mr Koulouris said apart from the mess Haidaris created, he spent an additional $140,00 on legal fees and found it hard to muster the motivation to keep going.
The prosecution submitted that after the offending, Haidaris participated in eight poker tournaments across Australia up until November 2023 and sometimes won up to $3000.
Haidaris argued that a sentence of community corrections order was suitable, given that he has no priors, pleaded guilty and took steps to treat his gambling addiction.
Haidaris will be sentenced on November 7.
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