Woman Stole £6K from Brain-Damaged Sister to Play Bingo

Power of Attorney Lead to More Gambling

Judgement has now been passed to a woman who stole £6K off her brain-damaged sister to fund her online gambling habit. Agnes Rybak, 64, fritted away the money on bingo games when she found herself to be in complete control of her siblings affairs, including her savings. In 2013, Ms Kerr was moved from her home to a care home in Scotland after an incident caused her to suffer brain damage. Her sister, Rybak, was granted power of attorney shortly after.

In 2019, East Lothian Council contacted the care home to inform them that the fees for Ms Kerr were not being paid and a local authority walker was assigned to follow this up with Rybak. The worker in charge of the case tracked the sister down and was told she didn’t pay because “she had spent Ms Kerr’s money on gambling, and this had become a significant issue” for her.

After agreeing to pay the arrears back, all parties involved thought this was the end of the matter…

…but there was no attempts by Rybak to pay anything off the arrears. As a result of her inaction, an investigation was conducted by the Office of Public Guardian. In 2019, the office received notice Ms Kerr did not have the capacity.

Hot Water Territory

A few days later a letter was sent from the Office of Public Guardian to Rybak detailing their concerns regarding Ms Kerr’s financial and property affairs. At the beginning of March 2019, Rybak resigned from her power of attorney position and the care home manager was then made Ms Kerr’s financial appointee. All care home fees were then paid.

Rybak then sent a letter to the social worker stating she was “a bad person” who “has broken many hearts” and that she “deeply regrets” what she had done. Police were contacted and they seized Rybak’s bank details. When being investigated she stated she had “never been in trouble with the police in my life and it was just a stupid mistake.” When asked why she did it she said she “plays online bingo and spends whatever she can afford, sometimes too much, leaving herself with nothing.”

A two-year supervision order was placed on Rybak and she was ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work in the community. A compensation order of £6,454.85p was issued, the sum in which she stole from her sister between August 22^nd 2013 and April 4^th 2019. Rybak must now pay this back to East Lothian Council.

Know your limits and play responsibly. Staying safe when playing online bingo and games is important, which is why all online bingo sites offer deposit limits and stake limits to help you stay within your means.

Source: “East Lothian Woman Stole £6,000 from Sister to Help Fund Her Online Bingo Habit”. Edinburgh Evening News. March 28, 2022.