A man in England stole more than ￡65,000 ($83,117) from his dying mother to feed his gambling habit. Dominic Wilkinson was looking after the woman’s finances as she was in a care home and instead of paying the fees for the facility, he bet away her life savings.

￡78,000 ($99,740) in care fees were unpaid

The authorities became aware of the issue after it was discovered that ￡78,000 ($99,740) in care fees were unpaid; the investigation found that the Hartlepool resident was placing big bets with sportsbooks. The 55-year-old’s mother passed away during the probe.

Wilkinson received a two-year suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to theft. He will have to serve 300 hours of community service and be subject to an electronic tagging curfew for an initial three-month period.

The acting police inspector in the case said that “essentially the taxpayers of Hartlepool are left to foot the bill for his mother’s care.”