Son defrauded mother of more than $288,000

A Niagara Falls man who embezzled more than $288,000 from his mother’s estate has been given a six-month conditional sentence.

John Wultchyn pleaded guilty Thursday in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines to a charge of taking money fraudulently.

His sister said the family has been “torn apart by this incident.”

“Our relationships have been fractured and will probably never be repaired,” she told Judge Peter Wilkie.

Court was told Wultchyn assumed responsibility of their mother’s finances after she moved in to a retirement home in 2010.

He closed several of the victim’s bank accounts and transferred the funds into a new joint account. He obtained a debit card in his name and a credit card in his mother’s name.

Assistant Crown attorney Henry Limheng told the judge the woman never gave her son permission to use her money for his own purposes.

In fall 2014, court heard, his sister became suspicious of her brother’s spending habits and obtained a copy of their mother’s banking records. She discovered that more than $288,000 was missing from the estate.

His sister told court her discovery of her brother’s actions left her in “emotional shock and intense anger.”

Their mother died in 2016 at age 95.

Defence lawyer Jeff Root said his client, a first-time offender, takes responsibility for syphoning $140,000 from the account.

“He has pledged to return it to the estate,” he told the judge.

He said Wultchyn has provided him with $30,000 to put toward the amount owed and has agreed to pay $1,000 a month to his mother’s estate.

“I am deeply sorry for what happened,” the defendant told the judge.