A former Australian Army major who admitted defrauding the Defence Department of nearly $100,000 has been refused a bid to delay sentencing proceedings to obtain a medical scan about a potential brain injury.
His barrister then said the offender's symptoms and other cognitive conditions being linked with his offending could not be proven.
The offender, Travis David Morgan Stephens, also caused a $4406 loss to the department by falsely claiming he had been evicted from his previous place so it would pay for his relocation, court documents state.
Stephens was enlisted as a soldier in the army in 2000 and rose to the rank of major in 2017 before being administratively discharged two years later.
He fronted the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday for sentencing proceedings after he pleaded guilty to charges of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception and dishonestly causing a loss to the defence.
Stephens' offending spanned nearly seven years, starting in 2011 when he and his mother, Ilze, jointly bought a unit in Kingston.
They obtained the finance for it on the condition both their names appeared on the mortgage and property title.
Between August 2011 and about April 2018, Stephens claimed rent assistance payments for the unit he jointly owned and dishonestly received $91,705.54 during that period.
The case returned to court after it was adjourned in May to allow Stephens to undergo further medical examinations after a psychological report revealed the possibility of a traumatic brain injury.
Stephens' barrister, Mark Dennis SC, in the latest court session applied again for an adjournment because of the "long and sorry history" of not being able to get the type of MRI scan necessary; however, Justice David Mossop refused it.
After the lunch break, Mr Dennis tendered a medical report about his client having "cognitive impairment consistent with a traumatic brain injury".
Mr Dennis also cited evidence, tendered to the court previously, about Stephens' autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and PTSD.
He said that in relation to a causal connection between the conditions and the offending, he conceded he could not show it.
Mr Dennis said Stephens had a "suite of mental health issues that makes him different from other people" and which was still relevant to sentencing.
The lawyer cited psychological evidence about Stephens finding it difficulty to understand others, which he said was consistent with autism spectrum disorder.
Mr Dennis said if full-time jail were imposed, it would be more onerous on the offender because he was suffering from various cognitive impairment and mental health conditions.
"This [offending] was grossly unsophisticated ... there was little effort to conceal what was going on," he said.
"It had a smell about it if anybody bothered to look."
Prosecutor Marcus Hassall said he accepted the latest medical report showing Stephens having symptoms or impairment consistent with a brain injury.
However, he said it had not been proven they had a causal connection with the offending and that the report found some of Stephens' executive functioning being normal for his age.
Mr Hassall said the medical practitioner in that report not only fell short of establishing a brain injury, he indicated "if there is one, it's not one that affects those critical areas in relation to the commission of the offences".
Mr Hassall said Stephens' case should be used to deter others.
"Critically, we say that at the time the offences were committed, he was an effective member of the defence force," the prosecutor said.
"The agreed facts indicate quite clearly that there was premeditation and a level of intellectual sophistication."
Mr Hassall said the offender had not indicated contrition at any stage and that a pre-sentence report showed his refusal or inability to accept responsibility.
The court heard Stephens had already repaid what he took. Justice Mossop has scheduled Monday to deliver his sentences.
