East London document fraudster jailed
06 December 2013
A group of East London immigration offenders who used false documents to accumulate £63,800 in illegal wages have been jailed for a total of almost 2 years.
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Nigerian nationals Kennedy Avebuan, James Igbinosa and Dorothy Igbinosa fraudulently used the identity of a Dutch man to gain employment in the UK.
Woolwich Crown Court heard that Dorothy had entered into a sham marriage with the Dutch man in 2004. He flew back to Holland on the day of the 'wedding' and she was initially granted leave to remain on the basis of the 'marriage'. However, this was revoked in 2005 when it was established that the relationship was not genuine as she was in fact with the partner of Avebuan, with who she has since had 4 children. James Igbinosa and Dorothy Igbinosa claim not to be related.
The scam was uncovered in January this year when Avebuan, an illegal immigrant, was arrested after he was discovered working illegally as a cleaner at Haberdashers Askes School in Brockley. He was found to have used a forged passport in the Dutch man's identity to gain this employment.
James Igbinosa, a Nigerian who had overstayed his visa, was arrested the same day when he was found living at the same address as Avebuan in Romford. Investigations showed that he had also used a forged passport in the Dutch man's identity to work illegally at Enterprise Support Services, as a cleaning contractor.
Investigations established that Avebuan and James Igbinosa had used the same bank account which they had set up fraudulently to deposit their illegal earnings.
Dorothy Igbinosa was arrested in March this year at the house in Romford that she shared with Avebuan. She had worked illegally at Folkestone Nursing Home in East Ham, and Fircroft Primary School, in Tooting, through Enterprise Support Services. She lied to both employers regarding her true immigration status.
Investigations showed that the 3 had netted a combined total of £65,746 in earnings through working illegally for 4 different employers, all of who had been duped by their forged/false documentation.
At a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court on 2 October all 3 defendants pleaded guilty to a number of the charges against them. The judge ordered 4 not guilty pleas to remain on file and they were sentenced at the same court on Thursday 5 December.
Hannah Shirley, from our immigration enforcement criminal investigations team, said:
'This was a cynical attempt to con legitimate employers out of thousands of pounds in wages from illegal working.
'Unfortunately for the 3 people involved the law caught up with them and they are now where they belong - behind bars.
'The Home Office is cracking down on all forms of immigration crime, no matter how large or small, and those who seek to cheat immigration laws face prosecution and conviction.'
The judge recommended they be deported from the UK when they have served their sentences.
A sham marriage or civil partnership typically occurs when a non-European national marries someone from the European Economic Area as a means of attempting to gain long-term residency and the right to work and claim benefits in the UK.
Our immigration enforcement criminal investigations team is a specialist unit of seconded officers from the Metropolitan Police Service working alongside our warranted immigration enforcement officers to investigate organised immigration crime.
