A former journalism student who used the identities of dead people to get loans has been sentenced to two years and one month prison on all charges.
He has also been ordered to pay $8600 in reparations to Marac Finance, and $8600 to the NZ Credit Union.
Nathan Calder, 22, appeared in the Auckland District Court on Friday charged with two counts of obtaining a document by deception, and three counts of using a document dishonestly for pecuniary advantage.
Calder obtained a fake passport under the identity of two men who were born in New Zealand but died overseas to get more than $17,200 in loans.
He initially pleaded not guilty in December despite advice not to, but later changed his plea.
His offending has revealed a massive loophole in the law, where overseas deaths aren't registered in New Zealand.
In the first instance, Calder obtained a fake passport under the identity of Nicholas Rohdes, a Kiwi who died in the US of a heroin overdose in 2014.
Mr Rohdes, commonly known as Nick, was born in Wellington but had spent most of his 24 years living in Colts Neck, Pennsylvania.
Calder also attempted to steal the identity of Whangarei-born Sonny Kless, a budding pilot who was tragically killed in a United States plane crash in 2010.
He used photographs of himself to apply for the passport and used it to secure loans, each worth $8600 from Marac Finance and the NZ Credit Union.
Newshub.
