A stolen birth certificate was all it took for Adam Gregory Towney to shed his chequered past and assume the identity of a young soldier training to serve his country.
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It unlocked doors to almost all aspects of the life of army recruit Eldean Demmery, helping Towney obtain IMB bank accounts, a Medicare card, and ACT and NSW driver's licences in his name.
Towney, 27, of Canberra, used his new identity to work as a used car salesman in Sydney, duping his employer and colleagues, and hiding the fact he was suspended from driving until 2017.
He visited doctors around the ACT and obtained the controlled pain killer drug OxyContin, an opiate, court documents said.
Towney also used the soldier's identity to take a rental car, obtaining it under Demmery's name, then changing the plates and reporting the original registration as stolen.
The fraudulent NSW driver's licence was allowed to remain active even after ACT authorities became suspicious, noticing he did not match old images they had of Demmery and cancelled the card.
After six months, Towney's takeover of the army recruit's life came unstuck.
He was driving the stolen rental car, a Ford Falcon XR6, near the ACT border on Yass Road, when he did a u-turn to avoid a random breath test (RBT).
Police noticed and followed the car, lost it, but then found the vehicle crashed on Oaks Estate Road as they returned to their RBT station.
Towney fled from the scene into nearby bush and couldn't be found, prompting the case to be handed to ACT Policing.
Police found his fingerprints, checked the car's vehicle identification number, and found documents in Towney's name.
They also found a wallet with the driver's licence, Medicare card, Visa debit card, a BP fuel card, and an Eastlake Football Club card, all in the name of Eldean Demmery.
That discovery helped authorities discover the truth of Towney's fraud.
They contacted the rental company and asked for the documentation used to rent the car, and did the same with the NSW Roads and Maritime Service for the driver's licence.
Police then looked up archive images of Towney, which matched the fraudulent licence taken out in Demmery's name.
Officers then tracked down Demmery, who was doing basic training at Kapooka in NSW.
He told them he was not allowed to leave the base, was not a customer of IMB bank, and had never held a NSW driver's licence.
In June 2013, police raided the Stuart Flats apartment of Towney, finding incriminating documentation and 15 other identification cards in a large stack.
He was charged with a series of offences and was sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Towney, the court heard, had shown "excellent progress" in rehabilitation and had already spent five months in custody for the fraud.
The court heard he had a criminal history, which reduced the leniency he could be given for the most recent crimes.
Magistrate Bernadette Boss said deterrence, denouncement of the crimes, and rehabilitation were all important factors in her sentencing.
"All these offences have direct effects on the community," Dr Boss said.
She sentenced Towney to 18 months imprisonment, but suspended the term so that Towney will not spend more time in custody.
He was put on a good behaviour order for two years and warned that if he breached it he would probably serve the remainder of the 18-month sentence in custody.
