TWO foreign nationals who were due to take part in a ‘sham marriage’ at Hanley Register Office have been jailed.
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Nigerian Edward James handed over thousands of pounds to a ‘fixer’ so he could get married and stay in the UK, Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard.
But the plot, which would have seen him tie the knot with Czech mum-of-two Julie Ondova at the city centre venue, failed as police and immigration swooped and arrested both defendants.
James, aged 26, of Drummond Street, Wolverhampton, claimed it wasn’t a sham marriage and was a genuine relationship.
He said he discovered three days before the marriage that Miss Ondova had a boyfriend and two children but he decided to go ahead with the marriage because he loved her.
Ondova, aged 20, of Poplar Street, Wolverhampton, confirmed she lived at a different address to James with her boyfriend and two children.
She said she was approached by a man and was paid £800. She confirmed she did not live with her co-accused and never intended to. She added she was due to collect another £1,000 after the ceremony.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law by a non-European Union person on September 20.
Nicola Bell, mitigating for James, said he committed the offence because after studying in this country legitimately the Home Office had no intention of extending his visa.
Patrick Buckley, representing Ondova, said she was vulnerable to exploitation by others.
Mr Buckley added: “The true masterminds of these offences are very rarely brought to book.”
Judge David Fletcher jailed James for 20 months and sentenced Ondova to 16 months in a young offenders’ institution.
Judge Fletcher said: “You both, for various reasons, involved yourselves in this attempt to undergo a marriage which was a sham. The sole reason was to enable Mr James to remain in the UK.
“Ondova, you did it so you would make some money.
“Offences to assist strangers are more serious than members of one’s family.
“There was a degree of planning. Trouble was taken to have photographs of the two of you together, which were clearly a nonsense as you do not know each other at all.”
Judge Fletcher said the UK Immigration Authority has made a decision to deport James back to Nigeria. He added that as Ondova is a citizen of a EU country he has no power in relation to her status in the UK.
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