saying he was justified in taking more than
$140,000 (£92,500) last December because he passed on
most of the cash to people who needed it.
"You haven't lived until you have served others in such a
way that they can never pay you back," he told the court.
The jury did not agree, however, and federal judge Alan B
Johnson sentenced the 40-year-old to serve 70 months for
the bank robbery.
Donaldson was arrested in January in Utah, where officers
recovered more than $30,000, including $11,000 stuffed into
envelopes and addressed to his relatives.
The would-be Prince of Thieves addressed the judge for
more than an hour on Thursday.
He said he moved to America after marrying a US citizen
and stayed, sometimes without a home, after a divorce.
Donaldson argued that banks racked up record profits while
forcing people into homelessness through foreclosures.
He said his father lost the family home in Australia in a bank
default years ago and once considered suicide as a means of
providing for 10 children from life insurance proceeds.
But prosecutor Todd Shugart emphasised that Donaldson
was preparing to ship money to his family overseas.
"His claim of carrying out this act to benefit the poor is
simply disingenuous," he said.
The judge agreed, saying the bank robbery was "fuelled by
deceit". He pointed out that Donaldson had already written to
publishers trying to drum up interest in a book about the
robbery.
The Australian is likely to be deported after his prison term.
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