A gambling fraudster has been released on bail hours after he was locked up for swindling his late mother of more than $132,000 in what a magistrate has called "a classic case of elder abuse".
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Magistrate Roger Clisdell also described Peter Van Dyk's actions as being "beyond any forgiveness" as he sentenced the 67-year-old pensioner on Monday to 14 months in jail.
Van Dyk stood in the Queanbeyan Local Court, trembling while he clutched his walking stick, as Mr Clisdell ordered him to serve at least half the sentence without parole.
The former landscaper had, moments earlier, pleaded guilty to a charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception. A further charge of larceny was withdrawn.
Court documents show Van Dyk took on the responsibility of enduring power of attorney for his mother, Carola Van Dyk, in January 2015 as a result of her suffering with dementia.
The following month, Mrs Van Dyk's home in Orange was sold and she moved in with the offender in Queanbeyan.
After Mrs Van Dyk died in June 2020, at the age of 91, the offender spoke with his estranged brother, Joseph, about the execution of her will.
Van Dyk told his brother there was "very little money" left in their mother's estate, prompting his sibling to lodge a fraud report with police.
Investigators subsequently obtained bank records that showed Van Dyk had defrauded his mother of $132,243.52, across 226 fraudulent transactions, between December 2015 and June 2020.
He did so by withdrawing large amounts of cash, which the court heard he had gambled away on poker machines, and going shopping with his mother's debit card at places like Spotlight, Chemist Warehouse and Best Friends Pets.
The bald man also spent some of the money he stole at Hair Flair Boutique in Queanbeyan.
Van Dyk stole most of the money while his mother was alive but he continued defrauding her even after her death by using her funds to buy groceries, shop at Homebase, and make cash withdrawals.
On Monday, defence lawyer Kim Bolas told the court Van Dyk had a probable diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, which was likely to be confirmed by a specialist later this week.
"He's not a particularly well man," she said.
Ms Bolas also tendered a letter from Relationships Australia, which showed Van Dyk had started counselling to address his gambling issues.
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The defence lawyer added that her client claimed not to have understood his power of attorney obligations, and that he had "thought he had the right" to use his mother's money in the ways he did.
Mr Clisdell responded by remarking that Van Dyk's mother had dementia, and that "it was her money".
When Ms Bolas replied that "he was managing that for her", Mr Clisdell quipped: "Yeah, by putting it in the poker machines."
Ms Bolas ultimately asked Mr Clisdell to sentence Van Dyk to a community corrections order, noting the 67-year-old had no prior criminal history and had been assessed as a low risk of reoffending.
A NSW police prosecutor, Sergeant Jason Tozer, pushed for a term of full-time imprisonment, saying Van Dyk's actions represented "a breach of trust of the highest order".
Sergeant Tozer told the court the financial loss for Mrs Van Dyk had been significant for a woman in her vulnerable position, urging Mr Clisdell to denounce the offending "in the strongest fashion".
As he ultimately imposed a custodial sentence, Mr Clisdell noted Van Dyk's brother had missed out on receiving an inheritance because the offender had "helped himself to $132,000 of his mother's money".
"[Van Dyk] has effectively spent his mother's money and left nothing," the magistrate said.
Mr Clisdell also ordered the offender to pay his brother compensation in the sum of $122,973.32.
Van Dyk, wearing a green prison uniform, returned to court within hours of being jailed in order to apply for bail after Ms Bolas filed an appeal against the severity of his sentence.
Mr Clisdell granted the application, releasing Van Dyk on conditions that include a requirement to report regularly to police until the appeal is heard in the NSW District Court.
The magistrate did so after finding Van Dyk did not pose "an unacceptable risk" to the community, and acknowledging a District Court judge may consider an intensive correction order an appropriate penalty.
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