'Money was a gift', says Cardiff son accused of defrauding mum

A financial advisor accused of defrauding his mother out of £137,000 claimed the money was a gift.

Simon Haydock, 49, described the "happy day" he received the full proceeds of the sale of his mother's house in Neath in 2010.

He said pensioner Geraldine Haydock told him to "have the money and enjoy it" with his young family rather than wait until she died.

Mr Haydock, of Cardiff, denies fraud at Newport Crown Court.

He told the court his mother, a retired teacher in her 70s, told him she had previously sold other properties and given the proceeds to his brother and sister.

The court previously heard that Mrs Haydock believed he was investing the money for her.

Within a matter of days, tens of thousands of pounds of the money had been spent on high-risk investments and gambling.

Within a month, fifty thousand pounds had been lost on the value of those investments.

Mr Haydock said "it didn't grow as I'd hoped", and that he would not have invested a client's money in the schemes as they were "too high risk".

The court heard the money in his account dropped from around £140,000 to just under £10,000 in the same month that the investments were made.. Mr Haydock said he was "not a serious gambler."

Mr Haydock, the managing director of Cascade wealth management, began his career within the Barclays banking group.

The court heard that regular payments of £567.70 were made from his company to his mother every month.

Mr Haydock told jurors that sum, negotiated with his mother, was for her introducing new clients to the business from clubs she attended.

Under cross examination Prosecution Barrister Nicholas Gareth Jones said: "You're not telling the truth. Your mother relied on you and trusted you to look after her money.

"You fobbed her off with monthly payments pretending that it was returns from investments."

The trial continues.