A GAMBLING addict stole his elderly mother's identity and used her credit card to place more than £1,500 of losing bets.
Richard Blanchett posed as his mother, Veronica Blanchett, 70, to set up an account on a popular online gaming website.
The pensioner had no idea that her 43-year-old son was stealing from her until she got an unexpected credit-card bill for more
than £1,500 and
realised the vast majority of the payments were to the internet gambling company Betfair.
Sheriff Michael Fletcher told Blanchett yesterday: "I can't help thinking there's something particularly nasty about doing it to someone from your own close family."
He ordered Blanchett to carry out 100 hours of community service.
Perth Sheriff Court was told unemployed Blanchett, of the town's Kingswell Terrace, lost
heavily while gambling on a number of sporting and other events on the web betting exchange over five days.
He admitted conning Betfair into operating an account in his mother's name and using a Bank of Scotland credit card to pretend to the company that he was Veronica Blanchett. He also admitted duping the company into crediting £1,538 to an online betting account between 29 September and 3 October last year.
The court was told the deception took place at the home Blanchett shares with his mother.
Vicki Bell, prosecuting, said Mrs Blanchett contacted the police after receiving the credit-card bill.
"Suspicion immediately fell upon the accused because the card had not been stolen from her home," she said.
"When he was interviewed by the police, the accused immediately said he knew what they were investigating. He made full admissions.
"He admitted he was a gambling addict and it was for that reason that he had effectively stolen the money from his mother.
"He explained he had a self-confessed gambling habit and at one point was spending £1,000 a day funding his habit."
The court was told Mrs Blanchett had been left out of pocket because the card had not been stolen and her details were known to her son. However, Blanchett has now managed to repay all of the stolen money back to his mother.
The court was told that Blanchett had been thrown out of the family home by his mother and had been living in a hostel in Perth.
Mark Alder, defending, told the court that Blanchett was ashamed of what he had done and deeply regretted his actions. He said Blanchett accepted that he had a serious problem with gambling and had used the card details to feed his addiction.
Betfair is the world's largest betting exchange, with more than a million wagers placed on the site each day.
The exchange allows customers to bet against each other instead of a central bookmaker, and the risks can be much greater than on traditional betting sites.
A spokesman for the company said: "Problem gambling is not uncommon and we try to help those who are vulnerable as much as possible."
The full article contains 508 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
