A man who tricked Australian immigration officials into letting him into the country, then stole $17,000 from ATMs, will spend at least two years in jail before being deported.
Kiril Todorov, 32, was on Thursday sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a Victorian prison, with a non-parole period of two years, following pleas of guilty to providing false documents and fraud.
His crimes were in the context of a much larger ATM fraud operation, the Victorian County Court heard.
His co-offender, Todor Tsenov, has already been sentenced.
The Bulgarian fraudsters withdrew money from unsuspecting Australians via the "card skimming" method, Judge James Montgomery said.
It involves attaching a device to the outside of an ATM that records information encrypted on a person's bank card, including the PIN.
Card skimmers then create a new card with the information and use it to make unauthorised withdrawals.
Todorov was not involved in card skimming, just the withdrawals.
He entered Australia on a UK passport in February 2015, committed one charge of fraud, then left and re-entered the country to do it a second time, the court heard.
"How that fits in with your desire to remain here is a mystery to me," Judge Montgomery told him.
Todorov also failed to declare to immigration authorities and the County Court that he was serving a suspended sentence from Bulgaria for reckless driving causing death.
Although this criminal history could have no influence on his sentence in Australia, the judge said it was "inconceivable" Todorov did not understand his obligation to declare it.
"You knowingly realised they were convictions and concealed it, probably on the belief that you might not get a tourist visa," Judge Montgomery said.
The judge refused to consider a community corrections order instead of jail time because Todorov's crimes were "too serious".
After serving his time in prison, Todorov would be deported to Bulgaria, Judge Montgomery said.
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