A Windsor-area woman says she has received none of the roughly $55,000 a court ordered a former pool contractor to repay. Her case exposes a difficult gap in fraud recovery: a court can recognize a victim’s loss without getting the money back to them.

Althea Di Gregorio and her husband hired Thomas Dowling to build a backyard pool they had planned for their retirement. They paid for work they say was never delivered. Dowling later pleaded guilty to fraud, and a restitution order was made in January 2025.

More than a year later, Di Gregorio says she has not received a payment. The order states what Dowling owes, but it has not replaced the money the couple lost.

That distinction matters to fraud victims across Canada. Restitution can be included in a criminal sentence, yet an unpaid order does not automatically trigger collection on a victim’s behalf. The victim may have to take further steps to enforce it through the civil courts.

Those steps can mean more time and expense after an already lengthy criminal process. A victim must also identify a practical way to collect. Even a valid judgment may produce little if the person who owes the money has no accessible income or assets.

The result is a second burden for people who have already proved their losses in a criminal case. They may need to pursue payment themselves while still dealing with the financial consequences of the fraud.

Di Gregorio says the process of pursuing her $55,000 has been cumbersome. Her experience shows why a restitution order, however significant in court, cannot by itself be treated as a recovery for the victim.

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Originally published on Canadian Fraud News.