A Central Hawke's Bay father has been sentenced to five months' community detention for stealing more than $215,000 from his adult son after becoming his power of attorney.

John Linely Mosley, 60, appeared in the Hastings District Court on Thursday after earlier pleading guilty to one count of theft by person in a special relationship.

His victim was 35-year-old Ben Mosley who received a brain injury as a result of an aneurysm suffered in a car crash in 1998.

After the accident, Ben started receiving ACC payments and the defendant, who lived in Ashley Clinton in Central Hawke's Bay, became his power of attorney.

Between November 2006 and September in 2016, Mosley made 34 fraudulent money transfers to himself and family members from Ben's bank account, totalling $215,186.82.

At sentencing on Thursday, the court heard much of the money was used for renovations on his Central Hawke's Bay property.

Defence lawyer Richard Stone said the offending had "snowballed" after his client began renovations and got to a point where he had to finish them before he could sell the property.

Mosley's own health issues were remarkably similar to his son's, having had his own car accident in 1996, and he had gone to great lengths to ensure Ben received ACC payments as he was entitled too, Mr Stone said.

The lawyer submitted his client always intended to repay his son the money and had done everything right after the offending came to light.

The court heard Mosley sold his house in order to repay the money taken, as well as interest it would have incurred and Ben's legal costs.

Stone said Mosely had "suffered significantly" and was living day to day trying to establish a new life in the small town of Waverley, where he and his wife could buy a cheap home.

He submitted a sentence of community detention, while lenient for the amount of money involved, would be the appropriate outcome for his client.

Police prosecutor sergeant Amber Thompson agreed with Stone's proposed sentencing outcome, adding the most aggravating feature of the case was the significant breach of trust.

Judge Bridget Mackintosh began her sentencing by saying Ben had trusted Mosley to look after his money and he was disappointed his father had let him down.

"He knew the money was going in and it was quite a relief for him to know he had some sort of financial security," she said.

The court heard a restorative justice conference held between the pair was very constructive.

Judge Mackintosh said it was good for Ben to hear his father apologise and it was perhaps a way for the family as a whole to now move on.

While the maximum penalty for such a charge was seven years' imprisonment, she said the discounts imposed for the case's mitigating factors meant it fell within the range of a non-custodial sentence.

She sentenced him to five months of community detention which he would serve at his rural address in Waverley.