Robert James Mills was sentenced to 29 months' imprisonment for 38 charges of unlawfully using a document by Judge David Robinson at the Dunedin District Court.
The offending occurred between March 2020 and April 2023, and involved more than 800 transactions using his mother’s credit card for a total of more than $50,000.
The mother, reading her victim impact statement through tears, said she felt unable to stop his son’s offending.
"You left me with no money.
"I don't feel safe any more."
The mother said Mills had "disempowered" her over the period of offending.
"You knew I didn't have the strength to stand up to you."
The mother said she hoped Mills would eventually become a "better father and a better person".
"I don't trust you any more.
"You are not the son I brought up."
Mills’ sister also read a victim impact statement, in which she outlined the emotional turmoil he had wrought on the family.
The defendant repeatedly mumbled "lies" during the statement, until he received a second warning from Judge Robinson.
Mills was living with his mother from 2020.
A police summary said he did not pay rent, but did maintenance around the property, shopped for groceries and ran errands for his mother.
In February 2020, Mills’ mother let him use her credit card to pay for groceries.
Between March 2020 and April 2023, Mills ignored his 73-year-old mother’s wishes and used her credit card 828 times to buy goods from liquor stores, dairies, takeaway shops and to withdraw cash.
Mills’ offending started small, with only a few transactions a month, but it escalated to him stealing almost daily.
In 2021, the shopping spree continued, even while his mother was in hospital and undergoing rehabilitation after a fall.
After another fall in 2023, she was discharged from rehabilitation, checked her accounts and found them empty.
The woman told her family members and after inquiries with the bank, they found it was Mills who had been draining the accounts.
She immediately cancelled her card and moved in with family to recover from her operation.
In total, $50,873 was taken.
Judge Robinson said he could only sentence Mills on the offending outlined in the summary of facts, but the victim impact statements "touched on other matters".
"This offending has had a profound effect on your family."
Judge Robinson conceded the nature of Mills’ offending was "out of character", although he had a number of prior convictions related to alcohol, which Mills had attempted to "minimise".
"You have not been entirely frank."
Mills posed a "moderate" risk of reoffending, the court heard.
"You started on a solid ground and ended up on a slippery slope.
"You treated her money as yours."
Judge Robinson noted the "planned and repeated dishonesty" but gave Mills credit for his guilty plea, while acknowledging there had been "no expression of remorse" beyond that.
"The plea has at least saved the family the ordeal of a trial," he said.
The losses were "significant" because his mother had no earning potential and limited income beyond the fortnightly pension.
In sentencing Mills to 29 months' imprisonment, Judge Robinson said no protection orders were necessary as contact with family could be regulated.
"While the offending was unsophisticated, the magnitude stands out."
— Additional reporting by Felicity Dear
