“Please deport my son”: Parents beg government for help after son stole life savings
Tearful parents have pleaded with the Australian government to deport their son after he stole their credit cards and racked up $47,000 of debt in their name.
Speaking to A Current Affair, Jill and Tony Lewis said they don’t want to see their son Russell ever again after broke into their home, stole their credit card information and took all their money.
“Please deport my son, because I've had enough… I never want to see him again,” Mr Lewis said on the program.
Ms Lewis broke down as she recalled the moment five years ago the couple realised their own son had left them penniless. He had spent their life savings on televisions, a four-wheeler and a portable air conditioning unit and more.
“Please deport Russell because I don't want to see him again.”
Tony and Jill, who moved to Australia from England in 1985 with their 10-year-old-son Russell, said they expected to be retired by now.
Instead they were forced to sell their home and business. They’re now borrowing money to pay their rent while looking after Russell's six-year-old daughter.
Russell has been convicted for fraud and was sentenced to 3.5 years' jail in Sydney's Long Bay. He will remain behind bars until 2020.
The couple told A Current Affair in 2013 they were headed back to the UK for a holiday and had informed the Commonwealth Bank their accounts would remain idle.
Before they had even reached the UK, the pair said Russell broken into and robbed their home.
The couple, however, did not know they had been robbed by their son until they came back from their holiday and a bank teller alerted them.