Peter Grant Holbrook, 75, from Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud, which resulted in him gaining £850,000.

He stole money from nine different victims between 2011 and 2021 while acting as a financial advisor, trustee and custodian of funds.

Holbrook befriended the victims and offered to write their wills and handle probate for their deceased spouses’ estates. But he gambled most of the money away after claiming to have invested it overseas.

He defrauded £384,303 from one victim and £231,625 from another. In total, his nine victims lost £850,000.

In the case of one couple, Holbrook handled their estate after Elizabeth Hatton’s death in 2011. He also wrote the will for her mother, Marjorie Calvert, who died this year.