A son who stole £50,000 from his father and “frittered it away” on sausage rolls and OnlyFans has been jailed for two years. Crooked barman Stephan Dewar was branded “despicable” by a sheriff after he admitted posing as his vulnerable father to steal from him for several years.
Sheriff's condemnation
Sheriff George Way said: “This was a despicable crime. This was a breach of a profound obligation to protect and look after your father - not to steal £50,000 from him.
“There isn't even a decent explanation, like had you had some really serious gambling addiction and you were being threatened by criminals or something of that nature.
“You have frittered most of this money away in indulging yourself in drink, entertainment, and a lifestyle you couldn't afford.
“People who breach trust of this type and magnitude have to be punished in a way the public understand. You also failed to appear for this case and cost the public a great deal of money and inconvenience.
“You have exhausted the compassion of the court and I have to send out a message of punishment, deterrence and denunciation.”
How the fraud was carried out
Dewar pretended to be his father to carry out a £50,000 fraud to fund purchases from Greggs Bakery and online porn site OnlyFans. He stole £50,000 from his ailing father's account after secretly setting up online banking and posing as him during phone calls to the bank.
Dewar, 31, was jailed for a total of 24 months after he admitted carrying out large scale fraud from his father Andrew Dewar, 67, over three years. He admitted forming a fraudulent scheme and posing as Mr Dewar snr to steal £50,000 from his bank account between May 4, 2019, and April 26, 2022.
Fiscal depute Jill Drummond told Dundee Sheriff Court that Dewar had initially persuaded his father to lend him £5,000 for the purchase of a pub. The court heard his father had suffered a stroke in 2007 and did not use the internet or online banking, but had a substantial pension from his past employment.
Ms Drummond said: “He is virtually housebound. He has a large pension from his employment. He agreed to provide it in the belief he would receive the money back.”
Dewar was given bank details to help with the loan, and he used them to set up online banking in his father's name despite him having no knowledge of it. Phone calls were recorded by the bank about the transaction and when they were played back it was identified as Dewar pretending to be his father.
Discovery and spending spree
Dewar's uncle, who was Power of Attorney for Mr Dewar snr, later noticed significant amounts of money had disappeared from his brother's account and an investigation was launched. It quickly became apparent that Dewar had been taking regular amounts from his father's account and that he would then indulge in brief flurries of spending.
Ms Drummond said: “There had been transactions from Andrew Dewar's account to Stephan Dewar's account, totalling £50,000, without the knowledge of Andrew Dewar.
“All were fast payments, indicating online banking had been set up. There appeared to be large ATM withdrawals after each transaction was made. Generally, he has been living a relatively normal lifestyle. There's a lot of spending in Harlequins Bar in Dundee.
“There are some gambling transactions to and from William Hill, mainly for five and ten pounds. He has made 18 payments to OnlyFans ranging from £3 to £15.
“There are several small payments to Stagecoach/CityLink. Other spending is typical and includes M & S, Sainsburys, Pout Dundee, the Trades Bar and Greggs Bakery.”
Solicitor Scott Norrie, defending, said: “He appreciates it's a very serious offence. There has been a mixture of shame, embarrassment and fear.”
He said his client had failed to turn up at court several times because he had “buried his head in the sand” and had simply carried on working as normal while ignoring the court case. “It is fair to say he recognises the offence is a disgusting offence and he clearly took advantage of a vulnerable, elderly man for his own needs.”
