A Canberra fraudster's elaborate five-year scheme to avoid justice has spectacularly backfired, with the ACT's top judge declaring his lies only served to sharpen "the sword of Damocles hanging over his own head".
A Campaign of Deception Unravels
Justin Dion Appleton, 39, was sentenced to four years imprisonment by Chief Justice Lucy McCallum in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday, December 2, 2025. He will be eligible for parole in August 2027 after serving a two-year non-parole period. The sentence culminates a protracted legal battle stemming from Appleton stealing almost $40,000 from his former employer, Flight Centre, in 2019 and 2020.
Rather than face the consequences, Appleton embarked on what Justice McCallum labelled "a campaign of dishonesty and obfuscation". This involved providing the court with a series of fabricated medical documents and lying under oath, actions she described as "a series of acts of self-sabotage" that "could only defer the inevitable".
Fake Documents and False Oaths
Appleton's attempts to delay sentencing were brazen and persistent. He emailed the court multiple fake documents purportedly from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Royal Adelaide Hospital, a surgeon, and several GPs. In April 2024, while appearing via audio-visual link, he gave false evidence under oath, claiming a recent medical certificate was genuine.
In a stunning admission, Appleton sent an email the very next day confessing he had paid $500 in Bitcoin for two fake medical documents and had then lied under oath. Despite this confession, he continued his deception into 2025, submitting more fake documents and lying in an affidavit about injuring his back and leg in a fall.
His conduct grew so obstructive that an arrest warrant was issued earlier this year after he failed to appear for sentencing three times. He was eventually extradited from South Australia to Canberra in August 2025 and remanded in custody.
Consequences of Continued Lies
Appleton had previously pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, perjury, theft, and burglary. However, in a significant ruling, he was denied any sentencing discount for his guilty pleas due to his repeated lies to the court. Chief Justice McCallum stated, "All that he has achieved is to prolong his own anxiety and expose himself to greater punishment."
Even in the final stages, Appleton attempted to delay proceedings by making "an unfounded allegation" against his barrister, Aaron Kernaghan—his third lawyer in six years. The judge also noted Appleton had threatened to complain to the Attorney-General, A Current Affair, and members of Parliament, writing in one email, "I will take this as far as I can."
Justice McCallum dismissed these claims as "plainly untrue" and highlighted the wider impact of his actions: "In a small court such as this every hearing day is precious... The time wasted by the offender's conduct delayed not only his own sentencing but others."
The court heard Appleton's original crimes were linked to a gambling addiction, which was deemed "a form of escape which he resorted to as a way of dealing with past trauma". While he presented glowing character references, the judge concluded, "I saw a different side of the offender in his correspondence with my chambers."
