Quincy K. Au was living large last year, using identities he stole off Tower Records video rental applications, but his world has now shrunk to the size of a prison cell.

The 28-year-old Au was sentenced yesterday to a maximum of 10 years on several counts of identity theft, credit-card fraud and forgery.

Au was out on bail last year, following an earlier identity theft conviction, when he stole Kailua resident Ron Brech's information and used it to buy more than $50,000 worth of goods, according to Brech.

"He has stolen something that he can't replace, my identity," said Brech, 54, during the sentencing hearing for Au yesterday.

Au has been arrested on various charges 54 times and convicted 12 times, so Judge Karl Sakamoto wasn't sympathetic to pleas for leniency.

"You were given chances," said Sakamoto, as he ordered Au to begin serving his term immediately.

Au once impersonated a Macy's sales clerk and used other tricks to gain access to credit information.

"I know 'sorry' isn't good enough for what I did," Au said yesterday. He said he was driven to the crimes by his drug habit and that he had lived with others who were committing similar crimes at the time.

Sakamoto noted Au had an opportunity to rehabilitate himself by getting into a drug treatment program while out on bail. The judge said Au's only chance now to get into rehabilitation programs will be in state prison.

Au told Sakamoto his spending spree started when he was given a stack of customer account applications from Tower Records. He said he cribbed names, Social Security numbers, addresses and birth dates from the paperwork and used it to open credit-card accounts and run up charges.

One of Au's convictions resulted from his arrest in July 2005 when he went into the Neiman Marcus department store at Ala Moana Center with a credit card and letter he said belonged to his 67-year-old grandfather. After providing a Social Security number and date of birth for the older man, he requested a "courtesy card" so he could shop with the elderly man's card.

Neiman Marcus checked Au's story while he shopped. When the store determined the account was fraudulent, Au was arrested.

After his conviction on those charges and while he was out on bond, Au got credit cards with Brech's personal information.

Brech believes Au racked up charges on American Express and other cards, while transferring funds out of Brech's bank account, though Au disputes that he was responsible for all the fraudulent activity.

Brech played a role in Au's arrest by going to designer stores such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry, where the thief made purchases and asking the clerks to alert police if he ever came back. That occurred in December.

Yesterday, Brech addressed the court stating, "My name is Ron Brech. The real Ron Brech."

He said he is still receiving bills from purchases he never made.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority will determine how much time Au will serve before he can be released on parole.

Reach (Ukjent person) at (unknown address).