A girl who travelled the nation to sit down false UK citizenship assessments has been jailed for 4 years and 6 months. Josephine Maurice, 61, pretended to be 13 completely different folks with the intention to take the Life within the UK Test between June 1, 2022, and August 14, 2023, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard. She used a collection of wigs and false paperwork to hold out the fraud.
Former bus driver Maurice, of Enfield, north Londonhad pleaded responsible to 13 counts of fraud, a cost of conspiracy to commit fraud and two counts of possession of one other particular person’s identification paperwork. District Judge Anthony Callaway, sentencing on Tuesday (May 20), described Maurice’s actions as a “wholesale assault” on the immigration system. He mentioned there was a “clear advantage” to individuals who wished to progress in direction of citizenship with out following all of the procedures.
The Life within the UK Test is a requirement for anybody searching for to acquire indefinite depart to stay or naturalisation as a British citizen.
According to the Home Office, it consists of 24 questions geared toward “proving the applicant has sufficient knowledge of British values, history and society”.
Maurice’s defence lawyer Stephen Akinsanya advised the court docket his shopper was not the mastermind of the rip-off, however the offences may probably rise to “affecting national security if people are passing tests when they have no right to be here”.
She was “gainfully employed” as a bus driver however obtained sucked into “something far more serious than she envisioned”, the court docket was advised.
The choose advised Maurice: “You attended test centres fraudulently undertaking Life in the UK Tests on behalf of other persons who, naturally, were supposed to and were intended to be there.
“It is obvious that the fraud was deliberate and complex and concerned the alteration of identification paperwork, journey paperwork, false wigs and different issues.
“The geography was varied. You attended in person a variety of centres in London and elsewhere including Stratford, Luton, Hounslow, Reading, Oxford, Nottingham and Milton Keynes.”
Provisional driving licences had been discovered at her residence after her arrest earlier this yr.
The court docket heard Maurice has a earlier fraud conviction courting again to August 2015 and “there are similarities” to the present case because it concerned her “impersonating” somebody with the intention to take a driving principle take a look at.
She appeared through video hyperlink from HMP Bronzefield the place she has been a “model inmate”.
Earlier, prosecutor Nana Owusuh mentioned it was tough for investigators to quantify the monetary advantages of the “well organised” rip-off or to “calibrate any gains”.
Mr Akinsanya described it as “an unusual case” and advised the court docket that for the “level of sophistication and planning the crown has provided no evidence that she was the mastermind.
He said: “Clearly in my submission, that is somebody who has discovered herself concerned in one thing much more critical than she envisioned.
“She found herself trapped to people she owed a sum of money. There are some levels of coercion and intimidation. She was not motivated by personal gain.”
Of Maurice, he mentioned: “Prior to her arrest she was a bus driver with Arriva and looking after her 25-year-old son who was afflicted with schizophrenia.”
Mr Akinsanya mentioned: “She foolishly agreed to help someone and this is where it has landed her – in custody and away from her son who is clearly vulnerable, that’s what keeps her awake at night.
“She understands the implications of what she has completed and for nationwide safety, and the court docket can deal with such issues harshly.”
Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra said: “Today’s sentence serves as robust proof that this Government will use each instrument at its disposal to root out abhorrent immigration offenders and guarantee they face the complete power of the regulation for undermining our legal guidelines and placing the UK’s border safety in danger.
“Josephine Maurice used wigs and sophisticated disguises to sit the Life in the UK test on behalf of over 14 genuine applicants in an attempt to gain them British citizenship and evade detection from law enforcement, she now faces over four years behind bars.”
The minister thanked the Criminal Financial Investigations workforce for his or her dedication to creating the UK a safer place by guaranteeing criminals comparable to Maurice who “participate in this evil trade” are delivered to justice.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2058005/woman-used-disguises-to-complete-citizenship-test