An Australian man will pay dearly for his imagination, who is now being ordered to compensate police for staging his abduction to cover up his infidelity.

Paul Lera from New South Wales staged his New Year’s Eve kidnapping to spend the night with another woman instead of his partner.

On 31 December 2022, Lera texted his partner claiming he had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers would hold him until morning.

His partner then contacted police in the Lake Illawarra region, who found Lera in his truck in his hometown of Dapto the next morning.

Now, a court ordered the 35-year-old to pay A$16,218 to NSW police for the costs of the investigation.

According to the ruling, officers spent more than 200 hours of police work investigating Lera’s alleged kidnapping at a cost of $16,218 in wages and obtaining phone records.

The local newspaper Illawarra Star reported that Lera had initially claimed to have been captured by a group of unknown Middle Eastern men who later let him go.

Lera’s lawyer, who was also ordered to do community service, said his client had made “enormous progress in his rehabilitation” since the offense and that he “continues to enjoy the support of his family and partner and wishes to move forward with his life as a productive community member”.