Disgraced Toowoomba builder Chris Edards ordered to pay more than $2m for cheating customers
A Qld builder lived out his high-roller fantasy while his victims were left helpless, a court has been told. SEE HIS EXPENSES
Police & Courts
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A builder who took advantage of hopeful, vulnerable and elderly customers in one of Queensland’s biggest building grifts is now on the hook for a large fine.
In Toowoomba Magistrates Court Edards pleaded guilty, both personally and on behalf of his company Chace Roofing Sheds and Patios Pty Ltd, to 38 charges of wrongly accepting payment under the Australian Consumer Law.
Well-intentioned house hunters and small business hopefuls contracted Edards to build their designs, handing over deposits as high as $217,000 with the expectation of delivery between 4 to 6 weeks, or at most 12 months for large orders.
When Edards did not provide what was promised by the agreed upon time, consumers began demanding answers.
The court was told the contractor gave a multitude of excuses for the increasingly longer delays: his construction materials were stolen, he was battling cancer, had recently suffered a heart attack, had contracted Covid-19, was struggling with a family break-up, or was dealing with the death of his sister and mother.
When customers continued to enquire about the progress of their homes, he ceased all contact.
No refunds were ever made.
An Office of Fair Trading investigation uncovered Edards’ bank account was overdrawn 13 times before consumer’s deposited funds; on seven occasions, the account remained overdrawn even after the funds were delivered.
The OFT prosecutor said more than half a million dollars, taken from consumers, were used for non-business purchases including more than $116,000 to online gambling sites; nearly $250,000 in bank transfer to himself, his wife and overseas individuals; almost $15,000 to a softball club; around $52,000 to invest in a real estate business; and close to $9,500 for accommodation such as Q1 on the Gold Coast.
Edard’s wife was not accused of any wrongdoing.
Sitting in the court gallery were just a handful of his victims.
Impact statements delivered to the OFT detailed the devastating fallout they experienced.
Multiple customers, including a 77-year-old and a mother caring for her disabled son, were now left living in small caravans and buses, unable to afford homes after pouring their savings into Edards’ defunct operation.
One customer and her brother purchased a portable home for their ailing parents but, unfortunately, shortly after depositing $50,000 their mother died.
The siblings were able to seize a partially completed cabin; however, the cabin was unsuitable for residential living so their father remains homeless to this day.
The prosecutor condemned Edards for continuing to trade, despite Edards’ knowing he would never fulfil his promises to consumers.
“There has never been a matter that has quite involved the same sort of compensation levels,” the prosecutor said of Edards’ case.
A spokeswoman from the Office of Fair Trading confirmed Edards’ case represented one of the highest amounts of compensation ever sought for wrongly accepting payment in Queensland.
Edards, who represented himself in the matter, took full responsibility for his actions.
“I deserve everything that I get,” he told the court.
“I’ve destroyed people’s lives, including my own family’s lives.
“All I want to do from now on is pay these people back and I will work hard until the day I die to do that.”
Magistrate Michelle Dooley said Edards exhibited profound “delusional behaviour”, taking advantage of vulnerable people in the midst of a national housing crisis.
“You were living the high life so to speak, believing that somehow by receiving this money that you’ve earnt this money – well that’s not the case,” she said.
“These people jumped at an opportunity which they might otherwise have not considered, a very reasonably priced alternative has come up and they have pursued it but that has been taken advantage of by the defendant.”
Edards and Chace Roofing Sheds and Patios Pty Ltd were ordered to pay $1,302,912.50 in compensation to their victims alongside $893.60 in court fees.
The company was further ordered to pay a $500,000 fine while Edards was personally ordered to pay a $250,000 fine.
The company is in the process of liquidation but remains registered.
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