Hawke's Bay man stole $215k from son with brain injury

The court was told the Hawke's Bay father had power of attorney over his son's account. Photo/File

A Hawke's Bay man has admitted stealing more than $215,000 from his adult son after becoming his power of attorney.

His son, Ben Mosley, 35, had suffered a brain injury in a vehicle crash.

John Linely Mosley, 60, appeared in the Hastings District Court yesterday charged with one count of theft by person in a special relationship.

He pleaded guilty to the charge, which represented 34 fraudulent money transfers from his son Ben Mosley's bank accounts between November 2006 and September 2016.

Ben, 35, received a brain injury as a result of an aneurysm he had in a car crash in 1998.

After the accident he started receiving ACC payments and the defendant, who lived in Ashley Clinton in Central Hawke's Bay, became his power of attorney.

What followed were fraudulent transactions from Ben's bank accounts totalling $215,186.82.

Between November 2006 and January 2008, Mosley made three fraudulent transfers of money adding up to $870 from the complainant's bank account into an account Mosley controlled.

Another 19 transactions totalling $96,983 were made between August 2008 and March 2016.

A single amount of $700 was taken out of the complainant's bank account in May 2016.

Between March and August in 2013, six fraudulent transfers totalling $13,079 were taken and put into an account operated by the defendant's stepdaughter, Alysha, and her husband.

Mosley had told her the money was a loan from the complainant and she believed Ben had agreed to this.

No loan agreement documents were drawn up and the defendant arranged for the loan to be repaid at $20 per week, but after Alysha had made 27 repayments (reaching $540) she was told no further payments were required.

In September 2014, Mosley's stepson Caleb asked for a $3000 loan and the defendant transferred this amount from Ben's account to an account operated by Mosley.

Caleb received the money but wasn't aware it had come from Ben's account.

In 2014, Mosley used $6410 of the complainant's money to repay money he owed the Department of Inland Revenue.

Ben also had a term deposit with Westpac which had matured in late 2015. His father transferred the principal of the term deposit - $91,304.43 - into his own bank account in December that year.

That same day he also transferred the interest from the term deposit, $3380.39 to himself as well.

Mosley stated he would not do anything to harm his son and admitted using some of his son's money. When questioned further he declined to comment.

Yesterday defence lawyer Richard Stone said his client had sold his house to pay back the "significant" amount owing, and had repaid the amount in full.

Given the complainant's brain injury, he didn't know whether restorative justice was a realistic strategy, he said.

Judge Bridget Mackintosh accepted the amount owing had been repaid and said no reparation was sought, but made a direction for restorative justice after describing the victim impact statement as "relatively articulate".

Mosley was remanded at large to appear again on March 8 for sentencing.