A gambling addict from Aberdeenshire, who embezzled £88,000 from his 94-year-old father who had trusted him to take care of him in his old age, has been jailed for two years.
Cecil Robertson chose his son Iain to become his power of attorney while he was living at a care home in Huntly.
However, the latter failed to acknowledge that he had a gambling addiction and soon found himself dipping into into father’s money to fund his habit.
It subsequently became apparent that his payments for his father’s accommodation were overdue.
When arrears of around £4,000 emerged, the care home contacted his brother who asked Robertson what was happening.
Iain Robertson replied he would sort it out, but this did not happen and he was removed as power of attorney.
His father and brother visited the Bank of Scotland in Huntly last May and discovered a large number of activities with which they were unaware.
These included withdrawals using a debit card. And there were payments of almost £2,000 to online gambling sites.
Robertson, 63, of Queen’s Gardens in Huntly, appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday to be sentenced for the offence which ran from April 2014 to May last year.
Fiscal depute John Richardson said that the money had been used to purchase a property in Thailand, but defence agent Iain Hingston did not accept this.
Mr Hingston said: “I would it is hearsay evidence.”
He added: “This is one of the most tragic and depressing cases I have been involved in for a period of time.
“Mr Robertson is 63 years old and has never been in trouble before. He has had a significant gambling problem for many years.
“There are a number of siblings who could have been given power of attorney. He did not feel strong enough to admit to his addiction.”
He added that there was no prospect of the money being repaid.
Imposing a sentence, Sheriff Graeme Buchanan said there was no alternative to imprisonment.
He said: “It is indeed tragic that someone of your age with no previous convictions appears before the court facing a charge as serious as this.
“What you did here was a very serious breach of trust.
“You recognise of course that that only a sentence of imprisonment is appropriate.”
