Looking back, Aimee Carriere says he knows that he did not do his diligence due as he would normally hire a contractor.
She thought she could trust Alan Hrehirchuk to do the job, since her children played hockey together.
In addition, she says she had worked for another hockey family, and says she boasted a support of HGTV show celebrities Property brothers On the track one day.
“I thought, ‘What is the damage, I will see it every day? It’s just a couple of exterior doors and two small bathrooms.” Where can you go, right? “Carriere said.
Then, Carriere says he hired Hrehirchuk in May 2024.
‘Is discouraging’
But she says that in summer, she began to worry that the work was not done, the merchants who are not paid and the items that were supposedly bought did not appear.
Carriere says that in the end he gave Hrehirchuk $ 40,000 and paid another $ 10,000 to unpaid merchants. Then he charged the RRSP to pay the bill to fix and finish the work he never did.
She considers that a job that was budgeted for around $ 50,000 ended up costing her more than double.
“This has hindered us safely, without vacation, without a roof, with nothing … it is discouraging,” Carriere said.
After not getting to Hrehirchuk on his own, he decided to contact the police.
He declared himself guilty of falsification last year
In July, Hrehirchuk was accused of fraud more than $ 5,000 and not complying with an order from the director of Alberta who forbade him to operate as a prepaid contractor.
The Alberta service order was issued in October 2023, after criminal charges were filed against Hrehirchuk. An investigation found that he violated the Consumer Protection Law of the Province (CPA) by making customers sign prepaid contracts that were “hard, oppressive or excessively unilateral.”
In April 2024, Hrehirchuk declared himself guilty of falsification, while fraud charges were removed. He had been accused of falsifying the invoices of the subcontractors and disappointing a couple who spent more than $ 100,000 at work that they say was never done.
A judge granted him a conditional discharge, which meant that his conviction would not be registered in his registry.
Hrehirchuk’s lawyer declines comments about new positions
That was a month before assuming Carriere’s work.
Carriere says that after this expensive lesson, people now urge to dig a little before hiring anyone, regardless of whoever it is.
“Even if you think you know someone or have the same circle of friends, Google to someone sure, at least only on Google, discover everything you can,” he said.
Hrehirchuk is expected to appear before the court on these last positions on August 26.
His lawyer has refused to comment.
The 2024 trial
In April 2024, Hrehirchuk apologized in the Court after declaring himself guilty and told a judge that “he fucked.”
“He has suffered and will continue to suffer significantly as a result of … committing two stupid mistakes,” Judge Harry Van Harten said at that time.
However, the judge and crown noticed that the financial losses for the victims also arrived in the form of having to pay a second contractor to finish their renovations.
Prosecutors had sought a conditional sentence, with a part of the six -month mandate in the house arrest followed by a curfew. Defensor lawyer Cory Wilson argued that the situation “was not a classic contractor scam.”
Wilson said the company had grown too fast, adding that suppliers began to require Hrehirchuk to pay in advance, what he could not do, so he forged the invoices because he was ashamed to ask for money in advance.
“I’m really sorry. I ruined the majority, and it cost me almost everything,” said Hrehirchuk when he went to the court.
CBC had also spoken with several people in 2023 who said they were victims while the police investigated more accusations. Two owners said that Hrehirchuk used a Property brothers Endorsement of celebrities to attract customers.
