In a crime termed “ridiculous” and “offensive” by the District Attorney, a mother has admitted to gambling with and losing her son’s cancer treatment fund.
Ryan O’Donnell, 21. is currently battling leukemia and was relying on the $15,000 already donated by well-wishers to pay for his treatment at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.
Up until now, his mother Sherry Holcomb, 46, had been using a bank account opened in February to deposit cheques and money sent for her son’s treatment. However, in a tragic twist his mother is a gambling addict and kept both debit card issued by the bank in order to withdraw and gamble the money away at various casinos across the Northeast.
Meanwhile, the bank soon noticed that the joint account supposedly for the benefit of a cancer patient had multiple casino withdrawals and so Sherry Holcomb subsequently sent a letter to the DA’s office confessing to suffering from a gambling addiction for over seven years. As she then went on to explain:
“I have spent pretty much everything I had…I’ve spent the money at the Seneca Niagara Casino, Buffalo Creek Casino, Turning Stone Casino, Casino Niagara, Mohegan Sun casino [in Connecticut], Harrah’s casino in New Jersey…I know it was wrong to spend his money and I’m sorry for doing it. I’m ashamed of myself.”
Currently still the primary caregiver for her son, Sherry Holcomb now faces up to four years in prison when she is sentenced on November 16th.
Commenting on her crime, Erie County DA Frank Sedita said: “…the conduct of the defendant really offends me. I know on the one hand, she’s suffering because her son is suffering from cancer, but on the other hand she stole money that was being raised for the treatment of her own son for cancer, so she could finance her gambling…This goes beyond your basic con, when it’s your own mother doing this.”
Amazing how many of these stories have come out since the US Govt shut down online poker. Yet you never heard about any of this before all that happened. Methinks there’s some assistance in making gambling seem like such a bad thing because a select few are unable to control themselves……
Pretty sick from a site who claims to be on the side of the American Poker player……
Well it depends on on how u look at it, u sick bastard. It doesnt matter what side ur on, If the stories are true stories, regardless of who’s doing what in in the gambling industry, people should know the dangers of gambling by hearing ab it. this kind of stuff has always been out there, but it’s good when a site can tell it as it is…
they sell booze legally too and a select few no doubt end up in a gutter with lots of regrets…its called HUMAN BEINGS
online poker is in so many ways safer than casinos.