Gambling leads to four years jail

A man who conned nearly $20,000 from elderly people did so to help pay for his gambling addiction, a court heard last week.

Darrell Ross Simpson, 38, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment at the Auckland District Court on Friday, after pleading guilty to four charges of obtaining by deception in March.

Judge Stan Thorburn called the offending "depraved in the extreme".

"It exposes a most unseemly flaw in character," Judge Thorburn says.

"It’s about as bad as it can get."

Simpson, a North Shore resident, posed as a roofer and cold called his four victims, all of whom were aged in their 70s or 80s, telling them their roofs needed repairing.

He took deposits from them for work which was never done and even drove two of the victims to the bank to withdraw the money because they didn’t have chequebooks.

He targeted people in Onehunga, Pakuranga, Mairangi Bay and Orewa.

Three of the victims paid him $3000 each, but the 78-year-old Orewa man handed over $10,200, which Crown prosecutor Sarah Mandeno said he had been saving to help with his wife’s cancer treatment.

"He didn’t initially tell his wife about the money because he was highly embarrassed about being tricked."

Defence lawyer Geoff Anderson told the court Simpson, who committed the crimes while on parole for similar offences, has had a gambling problem for 18 years.

He said after finishing his last prison sentence, Simpson went back to work and ended up taking on more responsibility when his employer had financial difficulties.

The stress led him back to gambling, for which he needed more money.

"Because he is not getting enough money from his job, he starts defrauding people in the community.

"The more money he got, the more he gambled, the more he won, the more he lost."

Simpson also recently discovered he has a depressive disorder, for which he is now under medication.

He repaid two victims their $3000 when police started investigating the matter, but still owes $13,200, which Mr Anderson says he is unable to repay.

In 2005, Simpson received a three-year jail sentence for conning $12,300 from an elderly victim.

While on parole in October 2006, he targeted the 76-year-old Onehunga man for $3000.

He was charged for the offence and released on bail.

He then continued his con, targeting the three other victims in April and May last year.

Simpson’s offending was brought to police attention when two of the victims appeared on the television programme Fair Go and others came forward.

Judge Thorburn said there were few mitigating factors the court could give weight to when considering the sentence, but commended Simpson for discovering and seeking treatment for his depressive illness.