Gambler who stole almost £1m from wife's grandfather jailed

Addict took money to chase losses

Report from BBC Isle of Man.

A man who stole almost £1m from his wife's grandfather to gamble on the stock exchange has been jailed for nine years.

Garry Vernon, 54, befriended the man who allowed him access to his finances between 2010 and 2013.

Douglas Courthouse heard Vernon, of Sulby, had a gambling addiction and took the money to "chase his losses". 

Deemster Graeme Cook said his actions had been "extremely deceitful" and "morally disgusting".

The court heard although Vernon's victim had investments, they were safe and he did not gamble with stocks.

Although the man did sign over £100,000 for Vernon to use on some exchange, that money was lost in a short period.

After he lost the same amount again, Vernon continued to take money from his victim without telling him what he was doing.

Douglas Courthouse heard the theft came to light after the victim had died, when Vernon gave his wife a letter outlining what had happened to the money, which totalled more than two-thirds of the man's estate.

His defence advocate said he had previously been treated for a gambling addiction and was in a "period of relapse" at the time.

He was found guilty of three counts of theft totalling £997,000 after a trial in February.

Deemster Cook said the letter had been an attempt to "remove yourself from a police inquiry" and he was "simply being dishonest". 

"You were chasing you losses as if it had been your own money," he said. "The only reason we had a trial was because you could not accept what you had done."