Betting addict used wife's credit card to fund habit
Exeter Crown Court heard 37-year-old John Robinson not only fleeced his wife but also stole money from the accounts of her mother, who was in a care home, and her disabled son.
In all he had £8,733 over a three-month period.
Robinson, of St Efrides Road, Torquay, was jailed for nine months after pleading guilty to eight offences of theft and one of fraud by false representation.
Prosecutor Alex Allsop said just after Christmas Karen Richardson checked her Mastercard account and was surprised to find she was overdrawn to the tune of £3,400.
While she was actually on the telephone, Robinson confessed to her what he had done and said it would not happen again.
Just over a fortnight later he disappeared which led his concerned wife to report him missing to the police.
Five days later he handed himself in and made full admissions as to what he had done with the money he had siphoned off.
In mitigation, Emily Pitts said the internet gambling had spiralled out of control when he was in the throes of a full blown addiction.
The sad thing was that when he did not need to win he was successful but at this time when he needed the money he lost.
So he kept on gambling in the hope that a win would put everything right.
Miss Pitts said he was 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' and had said that his gambling madness had led him to 'throw away the good life that he had'.
He had lost everything and when he vanished it was because he was going to commit suicide but had handed himself in when that had not worked.
Jailing him for nine months, Judge John Neligan told Robinson: "You must have planned this and two of your victims were vulnerable adults.
"This was a gambling addiction that spiralled out of control but your motivation was purely financial.
"You then disappeared which caused your wife further anxiety.
"I am afraid I cannot pass a suspended sentence for what was blatant dishonesty with the aggravating feature of planning."
