A Kiltarlity man has been handed unpaid work after blowing £12,000 of his elderly grandparents’ money to fund a gambling addiction.
Andrew MacLean, 26, squandered the fraudulently obtained money on gambling websites and also used it to pay his council tax and purchase other goods.
But MacLean, of Allaburn Place, Kiltarlity, who Inverness Sheriff Court heard was “heartbroken” over his actions, avoided a custodial sentence and was instead given unpaid work.
Sheriff Margaret Neilson had previously deferred sentence on MacLean for a background report to see “if there is an alternative to a custodial sentence”.
But when he appeared back at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing, the sheriff decided against jailing him after reading the report and hearing from defence solicitor Natalie Paterson.
The lawyer told the court that all the money had been repaid. She added that her client is “heartbroken when he thinks about what he has done”.
Sheriff Neilson ordered MacLean to carry out 225 hours of unpaid community work as a punishment, telling him: “I don’t want to see you back before the court again. I suspect we won’t.”
‘Grandparents were unaware of who made the transactions’
At a previous hearing, the court was told the elderly couple were shocked when they discovered their bank account and credit cards were being used on gambling websites.
When police investigated, they discovered that it was their grandson who was responsible.
MacLean admitted fraudulently obtaining £12,000 from his grandparents, who are both in their 70s, between May 11, 2017 and November 27, 2019.
Fiscal depute David Morton told the court that MacLean had a gambling addiction and associated debts.
“His grandparents were unaware of who made the transactions when the report was made to the police,” Mr Morton said.
He added that apart from the gambling websites, MacLean used their funds to pay council tax, write cheques to himself and pay for goods.
“He has since repaid all the money,” Mr Morton went on.
