A disabled man was ripped off by his friend, leaving him almost $8000 out of pocket.
Paul Jason Black, 57, was living with his moderately immobile friend, who required a stick or frame to walk.
The defendant had known the man for 20 years and helped out by buying his groceries at the local Owaka Four Square as he struggled to carry anything heavy.
The court heard in 2021 the victim let Black move his house bus on to a section he owned rent-free on the condition he maintained the yard.
That year, the victim started giving the defendant his eftpos card to buy groceries for him and said "if you need anything for yourself, get it".
But the victim never gave Black permission to withdraw cash.
Over the next two years, the defendant withdrew $6560 from the victim’s bank account.
In July last year, the man noticed his eftpos card and more than $1800 cash was missing from his wallet.
The victim called his bank to cancel the card and was advised a $1000 withdrawal had been made that morning in Balclutha.
He requested monthly bank statements, which revealed Black had made withdrawals from his account on 35 occasions. That day, Black returned the bankcard, which he said he found in his pocket, and gave the victim $700 cash in an envelope.
Later, the victim confronted the defendant about the missing money, and he responded by taking his bag and leaving the address.
Black told police he knew he did not have permission to take the money from the victim — whose income was from a disability benefit — but became emboldened by the lack of reaction from the victim.
He said he did not need the money and would gamble it.
"Your motivation can only be described as greed," Judge Michael Turner said.
"[The victim] thought you were a mate of his ... He trusted you. You breached that trust and he’s now lost trust in other people."
The court heard Black had a 16-page criminal history, which included convictions for dishonesty.
Judge Turner sentenced the defendant to 19 months’ imprisonment with leave to apply for home detention.
He also ordered Black to pay $7765 reparation at a rate of $20 a week.
