A 31-year-old man, Stephan Dewar, has been jailed for two years after stealing £50,000 from his vulnerable father by pretending to be him and using the money to fund his lifestyle, including spending on Greggs and OnlyFans.

Dewar was sentenced to 24 months after admitting carrying out the fraud against his 67-year-old father, Andrew Dewar, between 2019 and 2022.

He was initially given his father’s bank details after persuading him to lend £5,000 towards the purchase of a pub. He later used the information to secretly set up online banking in his father’s name, despite his father not using the internet or online banking.

He also impersonated his father during telephone calls with the bank. Recorded calls were later reviewed and identified as Dewar pretending to be his father.

The court heard that Andrew Dewar had suffered a stroke in 2007 and had a substantial pension from his previous employment, making him vulnerable to the fraud.

Dewar’s uncle, who held Power of Attorney for Andrew, eventually noticed that significant amounts of money had disappeared from his brother’s account. An investigation revealed that Dewar had been making regular withdrawals before spending the money in short bursts.

At Dundee Sheriff Court, fiscal depute Jill Drummond told the court about the extent of the fraud.

Sheriff George Way described Dewar’s actions as a “despicable crime”, saying he had breached a profound obligation to protect and care for his father.

The sheriff said Dewar had spent much of the stolen money on drink, entertainment and a lifestyle he could not afford.

He also criticised Dewar for repeatedly failing to appear in court, saying this had caused additional expense and inconvenience to the public.

Dewar’s solicitor, Scott Norrie, said his client understood the seriousness of the offence and had experienced shame, embarrassment and fear over his actions.

Norrie said Dewar had “buried his head in the sand” and continued working as normal while ignoring the court proceedings.

Dewar was ultimately sentenced to two years in prison for the £50,000 fraud against his father.

(Tribune)