A "capable" detective constable at Sussex Police has been spared a jail term after he was convicted of deceiving employers in Victoria, Australia.
According to The Guardian newspaper, Peter Ravenscroft claimed he had diplomas from a fake university and that he had been a detective inspector for the UK National Crime Squad.
It was all to secure highly-paid positions of employment, first at the Department of Treasury and Finance and Frankston city council, where he was paid a total of $456,038 as a compliance and safety manager over several years.
He then went on to a position as a Victorian ombudsman, where he earned $196,857, with the help of a fake referee at Frankston council.
The Guardian reported that Judge Angela Ellis was unable to understand his deceptions when Mr Ravenscroft was obviously more than capable of finding good positions of employment without needing to lie.
She said:
“You clearly have been able to perform at least one of those roles more than capably, which is what makes your offending all the more inexplicable.”
The 56-year-old was handed a two-year community order of 180 hours of unpaid community work and told he must undergo mental health treatment and rehabilitation.
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