Justin Dion Appleton, 39, stole nearly $40,000 and delayed his sentencing several times, leading to more charges. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A serial fraudster showed “forethought and planning” while stealing from Flight Centre, before lying multiple times to the court in an attempt to “defer the inevitable”.
Justin Dion Appleton, 39, had previously pleaded guilty to offences that began while employed at the Flight Centre storefront in the Canberra Centre.
He would go on to steal money through “cash skimming” while employed, and burglaries from the store after he resigned, to support his gambling habit.
In total, he stole nearly $40,000 from his employer.
After he resigned, Appleton used an employee code to enter the storefront when it was closed on weekends at least six times between January and April 2020.
While inside the premises, he would go into the back of the store and take money from cash transactions.
An investigation began after a former colleague saw Appleton entering the store in May 2020, and police were contacted.
In her recently published sentence, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum sentenced him for two charges of theft and one charge of burglary.
Following his arrest, Appleton would deliberately delay proceedings by repeatedly claiming he was unable to travel from South Australia for sentencing.
She also sentenced him for charges of perverting the course of justice and perjury arising from these unsuccessful attempts to avoid punishment.
His behaviour included emailing the court fake medical documents (including ones said to be from an Adelaide hospital’s ICU and multiple general practitioners) about a back surgery or injury.
In April 2024, he appeared in the Magistrates Court. Under oath, he said that he needed an adjournment on medical grounds because he was awaiting another back operation. He also said that a medical certificate was legitimate.
The day after, Appleton admitted that he’d paid $500 in Bitcoin for two of the medical certificates he’d submitted.
“The offender repeatedly provided false documents and lied both to the Magistrates Court to [the Supreme Court],” Chief Justice McCallum said.
He also lied while giving sworn evidence and in an affidavit about injuries from falling off a retaining wall, while he further claimed earlier this year that his lawyer was uncontactable on 33 occasions.
In May 2025, Chief Justice McCallum issued an arrest warrant for Appleton, and he was extradited from South Australia to Canberra about three months later.
At the time, his bail was revoked.
Chief Justice McCallum said that the delays only served to “expose [Appleton] to greater punishment”.
“He did not seek, by his lies, to achieve a different outcome in the proceedings … If anything, the offending here amounted to a series of acts of self-sabotage,” she said.
She found that his delays likely affected other court cases and did not award a discount for his guilty pleas in response to his lies.
In sentencing Appleton, Chief Justice McCallum accepted that his gambling addiction drove the 2019 offending.
“[This] was a form of escape to which he resorted as a way of dealing with past trauma … the offender experienced feelings of isolation which led to his using gaming machines as a distraction from negative thoughts.”
She found that the initial offending fell into the mid-range of objective seriousness, while the justice charges were slightly above the mid-range.
His lies and fake documents were described as being part of a “campaign of dishonesty” wherein he attempted to delay sentencing.
“In my assessment, the fact that the principal result of the offender’s conduct was to sharpen the sword of Damocles hanging over his own head is a factor that reduces its objective seriousness somewhat.”
Appleton will have to pay about $19,815 in reparations to Flight Centre (he has previously repaid the remaining amount).
He will be eligible for parole in August 2027.
If this story has raised any issues for you, you can call Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line on 13 11 14, while the ACT Gambling Helpline can be reached on 1800 858 858. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
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