Vic: Nine years jail for "wicked" lawyer

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Vic: Nine years jail for "wicked" lawyer

Eds: Corrects spelling of Coukoulis

By Stuart Walsh

MELBOURNE, Feb 11 AAP - A "wicked" lawyer who systematically stole more than $8 millionfrom clients in less than three years was today jailed for a maximum term of nine years.

Victorian Supreme Court judge Justice Bill Gillard fixed a minimum term of six yearsthat 40-year-old Theodoros Christopher Coukoulis must serve before becoming eligible forparole.

Almost $4 million of the cash stolen by Coukoulis, of Dromana in Melbourne, has neverbeen recovered.

In sentencing, Justice Gillard said Coukoulis's conduct revealed a high level of criminalityand dishonesty.

The thefts were the premeditated work of a "wicked, dishonest, deceitful man".

Coukoulis pleaded guilty to 47 counts of theft.

Thirty-two individual victims and eight companies were swindled out of amounts rangingfrom $2.5 million to $4,000 between 1993 and 1996.

Justice Gillard told Coukoulis: "Your conduct ... demonstrates you are a wicked, dishonest,deceitful man, who deceived and stole from friends, acquaintances and others."

When the solicitor embarked on his criminal activities, he was $800,000 in debt, havingshouldered the responsibility for a family business debt and also struggling to pay forhis own solicitor's premises.

Justice Gillard said Coukoulis's crimes involved obtaining short-term loans from clientsand others who were persuaded with offers of high interest rates.

The judge said: "Gradually, you reached a point where you stole money from one clientto pay another client, who was pressing for the repaying of principle and interest.

"In other words (it was a case of) rob Peter to pay Paul phenomenon, which is oftenseen when a business person gets into a financial quagmire."

Justice Gillard said the merry-go-round escalated with Coukoulis getting deeper intothe quagmire and having in the end to take out loans on up to 300 per cent interest.

The judge said he found it hard to accept that up to $3.9 million had simply "disappeared".

However, he said it was clearly open to accept Coukoulis's counsel's submission thathis financial outgoings were so high that he had dissipated the money.

AAP sew/gfr/apm/br

KEYWORD: COUKOULIS NIGHTLEAD