(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A County Durham drug addict fleeced a former school friend on the autistic spectrum, wiping out his savings and maxing out his credit cards.
Ethan Mackay pressured the victim into making ever-larger payments to a bogus “bonus ball” scheme promising a big prize that never arrived.
He was told his number had come up and that HSBC would contact him about his fake £45,000 winnings, backed by bogus bank emails - but no prize was ever paid.
The victim was working, but Mackay drained his account and stopped contacting him when his credit cards hit their limits.
Ethan Mackay defrauded vulnerable man of upwards of £25,000 with bogus 'bonus ball' lottery scheme
The victim told his father and employer he had gone from financial security to crisis, prompting them to involve police.
Prosecutor Uzma Khan said the victim paid the money into Mackay’s mother’s account, which he could access.
Mackay’s mother was arrested, but inquiries found she was not involved and no further action was taken against her.
Mackay claimed he had done nothing wrong, saying the victim willingly made the payments, understood the risks and wanted to keep playing.
He said he felt “bad” about what happened and wished he could repay the victim.
The 26-year-old, of Waterloo Close, Crook, made no comment in his second police interview but later admitted one count of fraud covering three months in 2023.
Miss Khan said £24,505 was taken from the victim’s bank account, while Mackay also drove his credit cards to their limits.
Charlie Thompson said Mackay maintained he did not target the victim because of his vulnerabilities and was unaware of his diagnosis.
He said Mackay had become addicted to cocaine and crack cocaine after years of drug use, and had tried to get clean despite a recent lapse.
While trying to quit cocaine, Mackay became addicted to pregabalin.
Mr Thompson said Mackay had stayed out of trouble since committing the offences in 2023, despite his ongoing drug struggle.
Judge Nathan Adams said Mackay exploited the vulnerable victim, a former friend he had barely contacted in recent years, to fund his “expensive drug habit”.
The fraud became a daily “lottery”, with Mackay “bothering” the victim for ever-larger sums day and night.
Mackay drained the victim’s savings and inheritance, then pressured him to find other ways to pay.
The judge said Mackay’s actions had a “significant financial impact” on the victim, who is on the autistic spectrum and has other disorders.
Judge Adams jailed Mackay for two years, saying the offence was so serious that only immediate imprisonment could be justified.
He added: “This was a very serious matter, a prolonged, relatively sophisticated offence.”
At an earlier hearing, Mackay pleaded guilty, with the prosecution due to review his account of the fraud and the amount involved.