Australian man who lied about service got £440K

A man aged 84 was jailed for four years in Australia for lying about being a prisoner of war in order to claim hundreds of thousands of dollars in pension payouts. But a Brisbane judge said Arthur Crane would be released after six months on a good behaviour bond.

Crane, who pleaded guilty to defrauding the Commonwealth, claimed he was captured and tortured by the Japanese during the Second World War, but had never served in the military. Before his lies were uncovered last year, Crane claimed nearly £440,000 in war pension and disability payments.