Geelong man Ben Cotter spends mother’s $45,000 on online dating
A Geelong man spent $45,000 of his elderly mother’s money on online relationships, a court was told.
Geelong
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A magistrate has told a Geelong man who spent $45,000 of his “vulnerable” and elderly mother’s money on online relationships over a year that he should be “ashamed of himself”.
Between October 2020 and April 2021, Ben Cotter was living with his mother and assisting her with healthcare needs while making several large payments on her credit card.
His defence lawyer, Hillary Russell, told the Geelong Magistrates Court on Wednesday that Cotter was using the money on the “online relationships” he turned to during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Russell said Cotter had “experienced significant obesity” during this time and was struggling with the pandemic.
She added that part of the money was spent on food and medical appointments but Cotter pleaded guilty to the theft of the full $45,000 to spare his mother the stress of a contested hearing in court.
“He accepts the money was spent and it wasn’t his,” Ms Russell said.
The court heard the relationship between Cotter and his mother has “somewhat soured” and broken down, with Cotter recently moving out of the home and into a share house.
Magistrate Franz Holzer told Cotter it was “disgraceful behaviour”.
“You should be ashamed of yourself.
“It’s effectively a breach of trust,” Mr Holzer said.
Mr Holzer told Cotter he would defer the sentence until July to allow him time to repay a “significant portion” of the money.
While he did not give Cotter an exact figure that the court wanted to see when the matter returns, Mr Holzer said it “needs to be substantial, not $5000, not $500”.
“I want to see a sizeable contribution by the next time I see you.
“If you haven’t, you will be looking at other options (and they are) not pretty options,” Mr Holzer told Cotter.
Originally published as Geelong man Ben Cotter spends mother’s $45,000 on online dating
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