A son stole £26,000 from his elderly mother through a number of cash withdrawals to pay for his addiction to cocaine. Upon learning of her son's crime, the victim asked: "How can a son do that?"
Jonathan Morgan, 54, of Newport, betrayed his 84-year-old mother Phyllis Morgan by taking thousands of pounds from her bank account which he had access to. The theft left his mother worrying she would be unable to pay her household bills.
The victim relied on her son and lived alone since the death of her husband but became aware money was missing from her bank account. She was initially reluctant to press charges against Morgan but later provided a statement to police in April.
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A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday heard the statement from Mrs Morgan. She said: "My son Jonathan Morgan has taken my card and took money out for himself. He likes nice T-shirts and pays for them with my card, he has been doing this for a number of years." Prosecutor Cat Jones said the defendant had access to the card to help his mother shop and bank.
He did not have permission to take money for himself and the victim used very little money so was shocked to see £26,403 had been taken from her bank account. In August 2021, £4,550 was taken out her account, and when asked about this Mrs Morgan said "That's not me, he stole it, Jonathan had access to it, Jonathan done it."
In total 32 cash withdrawals were made from a garage on Malpas Road between August 1, 2021, and April 18 this year. CCTV from the garage showed Morgan was at the cash machine at the relevant times, and upon being shown the footage, Mrs Morgan said: "How can a son do that?"
Morgan, of Severn Terrace, was arrested and interviewed but claimed he had not taken the money, except for £150. He said he used money to buy cigarettes for his mother and claimed she had given him permission to withdraw money from her account.
The defendant later pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position. The court heard he had previous convictions for theft, drug offences and an offence of arson in 2009 for which he was detained under the Mental Health Act.
In mitigation, defence barrister Hilary Roberts said his client's mental health had "changed his life" and he became heavily involved with drugs. He said it was his inability to pay for his cocaine addiction which led to him taking money from his mother.
The barrister said Morgan was "utterly despondent" and wished to restore his relationship with his mother. The defendant had been on remand for five months in prison and had served the equivalent of a 10-month sentence.
Sentencing, Judge Niclas Parry said: "This case can be summed up in six words used by your mother. 'How can a son do that'. (She's) 84, loved you and helped you but you abused that trust. One can only imagine the hurt that disappointment has caused her. You repeatedly and wastefully spent money not on what you needed but on what you wanted."
Morgan was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment suspended for two years. Judge Parry said the sentence was suspended due to the defendant having already spent time in custody.
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