A Calgary auto dealer has admitted to defrauding more than two dozen customers over nearly nine months, stealing more than $680,000 in the process, a court heard this week.
On March 24, Justice P.B. Barley of the Alberta Court of Justice sentenced Steven Anthony Humber, the sole owner of Calgary’s Express Auto Sales, to two years less a day in jail, followed by three years’ probation.
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In his decision, he said between Nov. 23, 2019, and Aug. 14, 2020, Humber did not pay out liens on trade-ins or existing liens on refinancing agreements of existing vehicles, did not provide vehicles despite consumers acquiring a loan or sold consumers vehicles with existing liens.
Barley said Humber defrauded 26 customers of more than $680,000, but added the incidents negatively impacted the lives of his victims.
“One was not able to obtain a mortgage because of an existing lien that the accused was to pay off but didn’t. One lost his job because his car was repossessed because of the non-payment of a lien that should have been paid off by the accused,” Barley wrote.
“Another victim is considering declaring bankruptcy because of being expected to pay off a lien that should have been paid off by the accused.
Barley said Humber lied to all his victims about the existence of the liens.
According to his decision, Barley blamed his actions on another person who allegedly stole $694,000 from his business and later died.
He said the accused paid more than $100,000 to victims of that man’s dishonesty and said he did so to save his business and retain his 15 employees.
“He thought that he could eventually earn enough from the business to cover the other man’s dishonesty, and to honour his commitments to the customers that he was defrauding,” Barley wrote.
“He claims that the scheme might have worked until COVID greatly affected business generally.”
The Crown doubted Humber’s claims, saying that the first of his offences predated the pandemic. Prosecutors also didn’t believe his claims of filing a police report over the fraud committed by his colleague.
The Crown submitted a jail sentence between two and three years, recognizing that Humber was showing remorse with his guilty plea as well as his claim to have saved $50,000 to pay restitution to his victims.
Defence counsel submitted a two-year sentence followed by three year’s probation, with $2,000 per month paid towards his victims.
“Defence counsel submits that the fact that the accused was trying to recover from another person’s dishonestly is sufficiently unique to differentiate this case from the usual type of trust theft.”
Barley says Humber’s choice to save his business and employees over protecting his customers’ interests was the wrong one.
“In the present case, this led to significant damage to the customers, both financial and psychological,” he wrote.
“I find that the need for denunciation and deterrence calls for a term of actual incarceration.”
According to Google, Express Auto Sales is listed as permanently closed.
