A con artist who swindled one of Bermuda's former top cricketers out of almost $75,000 and blew it on luxuries is now behind bars.

Jonathan Ratteray, 21, abused the trust of Ernest (Barry) DeCouto by asking him to donate money to a friend who supposedly needed help with her mother's hospital bills.

The tale was a lie — with Ratteray blowing $74,600 that Mr. DeCouto paid into his bank account on a car, a motorbike and overseas shopping trips.

Sentencing him to a year in jail on Thursday, Puisne Justice Carlisle Greaves said he engaged in an "unadulterated con" at the expense of a Good Samaritan typical of Bermuda's charitably minded society.

Ratteray of Sears Hill Road, Smith's parish, pleaded guilty to four counts of obtaining property by deception on September 26.

At the sentencing hearing yesterday, Crown counsel Robert Welling explained that Ratteray and Mr. DeCouto have known each other for about ten years. Ratteray was employed by Mr. DeCouto at the Double Dip ice cream parlour for five months before his arrest in January 2006.

The prosecutor said Ratteray knew Mr. DeCouto to be a "wealthy and generous" person, which led to him concocting a cynical plan motivated by greed. This involved him introducing his employer to "Ms Santucci," a friend of his, at the Double Dip. Mr. DeCouto was told she needed money to cover the medical expenses of her severely ill mother in the United States.

Mr. DeCouto subsequently paid large sums of money into his bank account between September 2005 and January 2006 on the understanding it would go to Ms Santucci for her overseas emergency. But Mr. Welling told the court that Ratteray spent the funds on luxuries including three shopping trips abroad for himself and his friends, a $29,000 car, a Honda Scoopy motorbike, a plasma-screen TV and car accessories.

"He treated friends to takeaways and restaurant meals, and on one occasion treated 20 friends to dinner at The White Horse," he added.

Ratteray continued to withdraw more than $8,000 of Mr. DeCouto's cash even after his arrest. "Ms Santucci" is not a person before the courts, according to Mr. Welling.

Defence lawyer Victoria Pearman acknowledged her client had been "greedy" and "reckless" and that he was instrumental in introducing someone called "Lakeisha Santucci" to Mr. DeCouto. However, she said Mr. DeCouto handed over the money of his own volition after he "saw what looks like a nice looking lady and took it from there".

Asking for a non-custodial sentence, Ms Pearman pointed out that the defendant was only around 18 at the time of the offence, and around $47,500 of the money has been recovered by the authorities through the seizure of items including the car, jewellery and clothing.

She speculated that Ratteray's Attention Deficit Disorder could have caused delusions of grandeur leading to his criminal behaviour.

Ratteray apologised, saying: "I would like to think that this is a wake up call for me, showing me that I need to change my life around and better myself from now on."

Sentencing him, Mr. Justice Greaves said: "I would suggest you take this opportunity because I think that this is a lenient sentence. You'd better take this opportunity to sort yourself out. You can't make it through life by ripping off people."

Mr. DeCouto, 56, is one of the top wicketkeepers Bermuda has ever produced. He played for Flatts, Nationals, Devonshire Recreation Club and Somerset, and was a member of Bermuda's 1979 ICC Trophy national team. He declined to comment on the case.