A Brisbane man who falsely claimed more than $A700,000 ($NZ933,000) in war pensions has been jailed for six months.
Arthur "Rex" Crane, a former president of the Ex-Prisoners of War Association, claimed to have served as a teenage guerrilla in Malaysia and to have been interned and tortured by the Japanese in 1942 when in fact he was at school in South Australia.
After 22 year, the ABC reports, his lie was uncovered by a military historian last year.
Crane, 84, pleaded guilty to defrauding the Commonwealth of Australia and obtaining a financial benefit by deception and on Tuesday a district court judge sentenced him to four years in jail, to be suspended after six months.
The judge, Marshall Irwin, said Crane was not motivated by financial gain but by wanting a place in society. That, however, was not a justification for his sophisticated and calculated fraud.
After the sentencing, Crane released a statement through his lawyers apologising to prisoners of war and the Australian community.
Historian incredulous he got away with it
The military historian who outed him says the Veterans' Affairs Department should be investigated for its role in the case.
Lynette Silver says she cannot believe the department did not do more research when Crane was appointed and applied for his pension.
Ms Silver was present when Crane made a speech in Ballarat, Victoria, and said she immediately recognised he could not have done what he claimed.
"It seems extraordinary that this really got past the authorities, and it makes you wonder exactly what was going on at the time."
Veterans' Affairs Minister Warren Snowdon says the department works hard to ensure veterans receive their lawful entitlements, and all allegations of fraud are investigated thoroughly.
