A former Canberra builder has been jailed over his use of false documents that enabled him to collect more than $1.4 million from clients.
On Tuesday, Justice John Burns sentenced Andrew Gregory Watson to three years and two months' imprisonment. Watson will serve one year behind bars before the remainder of the sentence is suspended.
Watson was due to stand trial in the ACT Supreme Court last year, but eventually pleaded guilty to four counts of using a false document to receive a benefit and four counts of obtaining property by deception.
In 2015, Watson and his company ANDC Pty Ltd were denied homeowner warranty insurance, which builders in the ACT need before they can obtain commencement notices for residential projects.
Homeowner warranty insurance protects homeowners should a builder die, disappear or become insolvent.
Because he did not have the insurance, Watson used false insurance documents that enabled him to enter into contracts with the owners of four properties in Lyons, Curtin, Evatt and Chifley.
Under the terms of these contracts, the victims forked out a combined $1.44 million in 2015 and 2016.
Watson's offending came to light when one of the victims, concerned that Watson would not complete the work she had paid him to do, contacted the Master Builders Association to ask about claiming on the homeowner warranty insurance.
Prosecutors did not allege that Watson created the false documents, but rather that he had used them to receive a benefit.
Watson claimed an employee had altered the documents without his knowledge, but at his sentencing on Monday, Justice Burns dismissed this explanation as "highly improbable".
Justice Burns said Watson was motivated by financial struggles, describing his crimes as "planned, premeditated and sophisticated".
He said the work Watson did complete on the projects in question was "marked by delay and incompetence" before investigators issued stop-work notices on all of Watson's projects when his fraudulent activities were discovered.
Justice Burns said it was difficult to tell how remorseful Watson really was. He had pleaded guilty at a late stage and continued to "minimise and downplay" the significance of the offences.
Watson's barrister John Masters previously told the court that even if Watson had legitimate homeowner warranty insurance, his clients would have been left with the same results because the insurance would not have covered poor workmanship and Watson had been prevented by stop-work notices from fixing any defects.
But Justice Burns said Watson had failed to prove that his victims suffered no financial loss as a result of his offending.
The judge also said the victims had suffered significant stress and anxiety, compounded in some situations by Watson lying to subcontractors and telling them he was unable to pay his bills because the victims had neglected to pay him. This had resulted in angry subcontractors confronting the victims and demanding to be paid.
All of this, Justice Burns said, had stemmed from Watson's decision to use false documents.
Justice Burns said jailing Watson was the only way to effectively deter others in the building industry who may be tempted to commit similar offences for potentially lucrative rewards.
He sentenced Watson to three years and two months in jail, with the first year to be served behind bars and a good behaviour order to be imposed for the remainder.
