Former Rangers and Scotland player Grant Adam was sent to prison for eight months today for stealing £15,000 from his 78-year-old grandfather.
Callous Adam, 30, embezzled thousands of pounds from Charles Adam in various locations across Dundee while he was supposed to be looking after his affairs.
Dundee Sheriff Court was told that Adam had family issues which led to him misusing illicit substances and he had also developed a gambling problem.
Solicitor Jim Laverty, defending, said Adam had been affected by "various family matters" which had "turned what was an intrinsically honest man into a man who has taken this course.
"Make no bones about this - it will be seen by many as a despicable offence. At the time he was in a bad place and had fallen to certain addictions."
Sheriff George Way told Adam his crime was "despicable" and that his dishonesty will have eroded public confidence in the Power of Attorney system.
"The use of a continuing and surviving Power of Attorney is a powerful tool to help people who are becoming frail and infirm," Sheriff Way said.
"There is a serious issue here. Someone has taken a decision when they still had capacity to place their trust in Mr Adam. He not only betrays that trust, but he undermines the trust of the public in such things.
"This was a despicable crime. This was persistent. You took it in £500 to £600 lots in order to fund your habit. I must mark this with a custodial sentence."
Adam admitted helping himself to £15,000 from his grandfather's Post Office account while he had Power of Attorney over the pensioner's finances.
Adam - brother of former Scotland star, Dundee FC captain and TV pundit Charlie Adam - was originally charged with embezzling over £22,000.
Adam, from Dundee, admitted embezzling £15,000 while acting as Power of Attorney for Charles Adam between 1 October 2019 and 6 January 2020.
He committed the offence at 13 Balmoral Terrace, 80 Whitehall Street, 88 Fintry Road, 203-205 Albert Street, 2 The Hawthorns and elsewhere in Dundee.
Adam admitted that he "failed to act in accordance with the duties and powers conferred on him" as a continuing Power of Attorney for his grandfather.
The court heard he withdrew the cash from a Post Office account and appropriated the funds for his own use and not for the benefit of Charles Adam.
Adam formerly played as goalkeeper for Rangers and Scotland under-21s and was a League Cup winner during a spell with St Mirren.
He had spells at several Scottish league clubs including Dundee, Forfar, Dumbarton, and Morton and represented his country at age group level on more than 20 occasions. He made a total of 159 appearances in the Scottish League and latterly played junior football in Dundee.
In September last year, Adam was admonished after he admitted pushing his partner and repeatedly booting a patio door during a row at her home.
He was allowed to escape any punishment on that occasion after the same court heard he and his victim were back in a relationship.
In that case, Adam admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner which caused fear or alarm on 14 September 2019.
He admitted shouting, swearing, kicking the patio door a number of times and pushing Kirsty Rowlands on the body at her Finavon Street home in Dundee.
Part of the charge, which alleged Adam pinned her against a wall, seized her mobile phone and deleted a video, was dropped by the Crown.
Solicitor Scott Norrie, defending, told the court: "Their relationship is back on track so there are no issues as far as that is concerned."
In 2012, while he was Rangers reserve goalkeeper, Adam was fined £500 for chanting a sectarian slogan outside a nightclub.
He was arrested after he was heard singing "Hey, hey, f*** the Pope and the IRA," outside the Corinthian in the centre of Glasgow.
He also has a domestic assault conviction from Ayr Sheriff Court in 2014, when he was ordered to carry out 135 hours unpaid work in the community.
His brother Charlie Adam earned 26 Scotland caps during a career which saw him play for Rangers, Liverpool, Stoke, Reading and Blackpool. He currently plays for Dundee FC in the SPFL.
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