'Dying' pensioner's life savings drained by gambling addict

A gambling addict drained a seriously ill pensioner's life savings then claimed he was placing bets for him.

Charles Lynch was thought to only have a few months left to live due to heart problems and a brain tumour.

But his son James Lynch's boyfriend Jason Kelly exploited his "acute confusion" to fund online betting sprees.

Kelly even told police Mr Lynch authorised nearly £50,000 of losses - a lie that forced the then 70-year-old to go through the ordeal of giving evidence.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Mr Lynch was 68 and in "poor health" in 2017 when Kelly was living with the Lynch family in Speke.

Stella Hayden, prosecuting, said Mr Lynch took early retirement around 20 years ago due to a spinal injury, which left him relying on disability benefits and a lump sum received after an accident at work.

Up until the end of 2017, he was cared for mainly at home by his family, including Kelly, and allowed his sons and Kelly to use his debit card to pay for essentials.

However, he began to spend more time in hospital and residential care when his health became "extremely poor".

Ms Hayden said he was admitted to hospital with cardiovascular issues in December 2017, adding: "It was thought at that time that he had only a few months to live."

He was diagnosed with a brain tumour, leading to bouts of "acute confusion", and was considered to lack capacity.

Hospital staff at the Royal overheard conversations between Kelly and family members about missing money and alerted social services in March 2018.

Mr Lynch didn't want to make a complaint, but revealed Kelly had his debit cards, then later said Kelly produced bank statements to show nothing untoward.

However, Charles Lynch junior discovered around £50,000 missing from his dad's Santander and TSB accounts, so the police were contacted.

Detectives found the balance in the Santander account was just over £47,000 at the start of November 2017, but by the end of May 2018, only £648 remained.

Kelly spent nearly £46,000 via betting accounts with William Hill, Coral and Betway, and from the TSB account £4,000, taking the losses to £49,876.

Ms Hayden said a video filmed on December 14, 2017, a day after Mr Lynch had been in hospital, showed him in "significant confusion, requesting that his shoelaces be tied together in order that he can go to work".

Kelly, 33, of Grampian Road, Fairfield, could be heard questioning the logic, but that same day paid William Hill £1,100.

Ms Hayden said he was arrested and interviewed in May 2018, when he admitted setting up betting accounts but "asserted that he had Mr Lynch's consent to do so and was placing bets at his direction".

She said: "He said he had had a gambling problem in the past, but was no longer a gambling addict."

Kelly finally admitted theft earlier this year, after Mr Lynch was cross-examined in a pre-recorded hearing in 2019, ahead of a trial set for 2020, then relisted for 2021.

His two previous convictions for four offences include dealing cocaine in 2005 and dealing heroin in 2012, when jailed for two and a half years.

In a victim statement, Mr Lynch said the crimes "attacked my ability to trust those closest to me".

He said: "Before this crime my financial position was safe, I was a working man who planned for his future so I would be able to support myself whatever life threw at me. Jason has robbed me of that peace of mind."

Judge Stuart Driver, QC, added: "It's with him all the time, he lies in bed thinking about it, it's broken up his family, it's caused problems with his son, the relationship with his son has been destroyed, it's been very hard to take."

Ms Hayden said Santander reimbursed Mr Lynch £26,000, but refused to repay the loss in full because it deemed him to have acted negligently in providing his debit card and PIN to Kelly.

David Birrell, defending, said Kelly previously got his gambling addiction under control but had "relapsed".

He said: "To his credit he appears to have got it under control once again.

"Because of his gambling problem I submit that this is not a case where he deliberately targeted the victim.

"He didn't seek out deliberately to steal from him. The offending began - began, I stress that - spontaneously, opportunistically and it spiralled."

Mr Birrell said Kelly was sorry and "dishonesty" was "out of character" for his client, who worked in the performing arts and as a travel agent, and had stayed out of trouble for the three years since.

The lawyer said Kelly's parents were foster carers and he was approved to provide respite care to children to give them a break.

He said Kelly had health problems including Crohn's disease and was on a liquid diet, which made prison difficult.

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Mr Birrell said the Probation Service suggested it would be "more "beneficial" if he was spared jail, given his progress in battling addiction.

Judge Driver said there was "breach of a high degree of trust" and significant additional harm, namely "emotional distress".

He said: "I accept you have addressed your gambling addiction and are making a genuine effort to rid yourself of that.

"The delay that has taken place doesn't give you mitigation, because it's caused mainly by your false denials until a very late stage. At that late stage you pleaded guilty.

"Technically speaking, it was after the start of the trial, because this elderly, infirm man was forced to go through the process of cross-examination."

Judge Driver jailed Kelly for two years and eight months and imposed a restraining order to protect his victim.

Kelly gave a thumbs up to a supporter, while two members of Mr Lynch's family clapped as he was sent down.