A son who stole $50,000 from his mother says he wanted to buy a house and pay the money back before she noticed it was gone.
Ryan Spencer Billington, 19, was tasked by his mum to help her move back to the UK.
The teenage labourer from Rangiora in North Canterbury set up a telephone banking account so that she could access money, Christchurch District Court heard today.
But between August 7 and December 7 last year, Billington pretended to be his mother and used her account ID and pin number to siphon money into his own bank account.
He started transferring smaller amounts - between $30 and $1000 - but then after the first month, he "became more confident" and started transferring amounts of up to $5000, a police summary of facts says.