THUNDER BAY -- A city man will spend more than five months in jail after being sentenced on fraud charges.
Richard Belbas, 37, was sentenced to 165 days in jail and three years of probation on charges of fraud over $5,000, fraud under $5,000 and breach of probation at the Thunder Bay Courthouse Wednesday.
Belbas pleaded guilty to the charges late last year and was convicted for two fraud cases involving renovations where he would be paid a retainer for a contracting job and then not complete the work.
The first involved a home renovation project in Red Rock, where Belbas offered his contracting services but never completed the job.
He paid $10,000 on Wednesday in restitution to that victim and the judge ordered him to pay the rest of the money owed - $7,600 – within the first year of his probation period.
The charge of fraud under $5,000 involved residential renovations and Belbas has paid restitution of $3,600 to that victim.
Belbas, a father of three, has previous convictions on his criminal record for fraud dating back to 2001; those resulted in conditional sentences that were served in the community.
Justice Dianne Baig said those previous sentences have had no impact on Belbas as he has still been actively defrauding people and it’s reached a point where the court has very little choice other than to impose a sentence behind bars
Belbas has a supportive and loving family and what the judge found most worrisome is that he showed no empathy for his victims and doesn’t seem to comprehend their pain and suffering.
Defence lawyer Christopher Watkins said the sentence was well-measured and he felt the judge acknowledged all the necessary considerations.
The sentence was what would be expected in a case like this with his client’s record.
“It had punitive sanctions. It had rehabilitative opportunities for Mr. Belbas. It had included in it restitution to make the victims whole,” said Watkins, adding Justice Baig also made note of Belbas’ family background.
“He comes from a nice family. These are wonderful people and I think the rehabilitative sanctions will hopefully address some of the underlying issues and hopefully not find Mr. Belbas back in custody again in the future,” he said.
