Alberta car dealer sentenced to two years in jail for defrauding customers

An Alberta car dealer says he defrauded customers out of thousands of dollars because he, too, was a victim and thought he could earn back his losses.

Steven Anthony Humber of Express Auto Sales was sentenced Monday to two years in jail after pleading guilty to committing 26 fraudulent sales and refinancing transactions between 2019 and 2020.

As part of his sentence, Humber will spend three years repaying the people he admitted to taking money from.

Court heard that losses totaled over $680,000, with customers reporting that they never not got the vehicles they paid for or not having liens paid on those that were traded in.

Humber, who is the sole owner of the south Calgary dealership, told court his actions were due to him being a victim of fraud himself.

But Justice Peter Barley says there’s no excuse for what Humber did, as his actions caused significant damage to customers.