Million Mwenge Butshiire made three fake travel insurance claims in 2014 after returning to his native Congo.

Butshiire claimed for fictitious falls and used forged medical documents to back up his supposed injuries. In one instance he claimed to have fallen into a ditch before being airlifted to safety.

The 25-year-old centre forward pocketed around $33,000 from the scam while another former Glory youth player, Lewis Hall, also collected a portion of the pay-out.

Hall received a 12-month suspended sentence last year.

Butshiire came to Australia as an asylum seeker and his defence lawyer, Linda Black, said he lived an underprivileged life before pursuing football.

According to the ABC Black told the WA District court: "For the first time in his life he had money, and he enjoyed it."

A former Australian youth international, Butshiire played for Glory's youth team in 2009/10 with the likes of Josh Risdon, Jack Clisby and Ryan Edwards. He was part of the Joeys squad that won the 2008 ASEAN Football Federation Youth Championships in Jakarta. 

He played for Hungarian side Budapest Honved in 2010/11 before spending several months with the PSG academy team in France. In 2012 he had a short stint with Chinese outfit Harbin Yiteng and by 2014 he was back in Perth playing for semi-pro club Inglewood United.

In a 2012, Butshiire wrote a piece for OS Aussies crediting current Glory A-League coach Kenny Lowe for his development as a player.

"Kenny Lowe, a man who played a massive part in my youth development and a very inspiring soul I look up to, always told me that football wasn't just what happened on the field, it's a way of living," he wrote at the time.

Butshiire pleaded guilty to three charges of intent to defraud and will be eligible for parole in 10 months.