A gambling addict who fleeced his kind-hearted elderly neighbour out of £4,500 was today jailed for eight months.
Angus Brady took the 83-year-old’s bank card and used it to steal the cash from ATMs in Inverness and Aberdeen, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
Sheriff Gary Aitken was told the dishonest former Royal Mail worker has no previous convictions but decided to jail him anyway, describing the crime as “a gross breach of trust”.
Brady’s victim has since died, the court heard.
Victim: ‘My worst fears have been realised’
Fiscal depute David Morton said: “They were friends and neighbours and helped each other out. Some money was loaned to the accused and it would usually be returned.”
Brady, 69, whose address was given as Muirtown Street, Inverness, asked his neighbour for £250 to pay for a holiday and promised to repay it in full.
The pensioner had moved from his house to a residential home and loaned the accused his bank card to allow the withdrawal.
When Brady stopped visiting his victim tried to contact the accused as he wanted the return of his bank card.
Mr Morton said: “On March 13 2023 it was returned and the accused immediately admitted that he had withdrawn £2,000 and spent it on gambling.
“(His neighbour) told care home staff: ‘My worst fears have been realised’ and police were informed.
“In fact, £4,500 had been taken from the account.”
‘This was a gross breach of trust’
Brady pleaded guilty to stealing the cash between February 1 and March 13 2023.
Sentence had previously been deferred for a background report.
Brady’s lawyer, Kevin Hughes, conceded his client’s behaviour was “reprehensible” and argued to keep him out of custody.
Mr Hughes detailed Brady’s financial problems saying his client was willing to repay the money and that a friend had offered to lend him the necessary sum after a property had been sold.
But Sheriff Aitken said there was no other option, saying: “He was fleecing his friend for his gambling addiction.
“It was a sustained course of offending against a vulnerable person who was his friend.
“This was a gross breach of trust and (your victim) died knowing that. The courts are here to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”