Worksop: Thief took advantage of younger brother’s memory loss to steal almost £2k from his account

A Worksop man took advantage of his younger brother’s short-term memory loss to steal almost £2k from his bank account, a court heard.
Watson appeared at Worksop Magistrates CourtWatson appeared at Worksop Magistrates Court
Watson appeared at Worksop Magistrates Court

Daniel Watson, 27, of College Lane, pleaded guilty to theft at Worksop Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 16th October.

The court heard how Watson’s younger brother could not go to a cash machine by himself as there was always the risk he would forget where he was and become distressed.

He often left his bank card in the care of his mother, who noticed the account had become drastically overdrawn earlier this year.

It was revealed that Watson had been taking the card to make online purchases.

Ruth Snodin, prosecuting, said: “Watson’s brother places a high degree of trust in family members due to his condition, which prevents him from being able to get money from a cash point while by himself-Waston took of advantage of this.”

“When his mother and brother saw how overdrawn the account was they were horrified and, upon enquiring at the bank, were told there were 73 paypal transactions on the account- totalling £1,900.”

“Watson initially denied what he had done, causing the family further confusion and distress.”

“But he finally came clean in July when he was interviewed by the police for a second time- admitting he had been buying DVDs, CDs and games from an American website.”

“What has happened has been particularly distressing for Watson’s mother, who says she believes Watson is mentally ill as he lies constantly.”

“The complainant is a vulnerable young man who struggles due to his short-term memory loss, and this offence is in breach of a high level of trust.”

Defence solicitor David Verity said: “The defendant did finally admit the offence, and has shown full remorse for what he’s done. He said the transactions got out of hand and before he knew it they totalled almost £2k.”

Magistrates said: “You abused your brother’s trust and must pay the consquences.”

The case was adjourned for sentencing on Thursday 30th October at Worksop Magistrates’ Court.

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