AKRON, Ohio (AP) — The skinny young man in the orange jail jumpsuit had a hard luck story not unlike many Americans.

He grew up in an impoverished single-parent household; he bounced from job to job; he lost his house in foreclosure.

But Roger Dillon’s story wildly diverged last year when he committed one of the biggest thefts in state history, stealing about $8 million from an armored car company where he earned $10.25 an hour as a driver.

The crime resulted in eight years in prison for him, three years for his mother and five years for his girlfriend — the woman he’d hoped to marry.

After eight months in jail, the boyish-faced Dillon, an avid Dungeons & Dragons player with no criminal record, told a federal judge Thursday about the new reality he sees.

‘‘Now that I’ve had some time away from everything that I held dear to myself, I can’t believe I let it all go for the money,’’ he said.