A former bus driver has been jailed for four-and-a-half years after wearing 13 different wigs to impersonate migrants taking UK citizenship tests.
Josephine Maurice, 61, who lives in Enfield, north London, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and two counts of possession of another person's identity documents.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard that Maurice travelled around the country using a series of disguises and false documents to take the "Life in the UK" test on behalf of migrants between June 2022 and August 2023.
District Judge Anthony Callaway described her actions as a "wholesale assault" on the immigration system.
Maurice pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and two counts of possession of another person's identity documents
PA
Maurice pretended to be 13 different people at test centres across the UK, including locations in London, Luton, Hounslow, Reading, Oxford, Nottingham and Milton Keynes.
The judge told Maurice, who appeared via video link: "It is clear that the fraud was deliberate and sophisticated and involved the alteration of identity documents, travel documents, false wigs and other matters."
He added that there was a "clear advantage" to people who wanted to progress towards citizenship without following all the procedures.
Provisional driving licences were found at her home after her arrest earlier this year.
The Life in the UK test is a mandatory requirement for anyone seeking indefinite leave to remain or naturalisation as a British citizen.
MORE MIGRATION SCAMS:
- UK's immigration trap EXPOSED as halal butchers and kebab shops issuing hundreds of skilled worker visas
- Second woman arrested over scam to defraud UK citizenship test
- Social care work visa adverts going viral on social media promising 'easy' process for 'all family members'
- Thousands of asylum seekers 'lying about their age' to 'break in' to Britain as Home Office accused of 'performative empathy'
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard that Maurice travelled around the country using a series of disguises and false documents
PA
According to the Home Office, it consists of 24 questions designed to prove "the applicant has sufficient knowledge of British values, history and society".
Prosecutor Nana Owusuh described Maurice's operation as a "well-organised" scam, though noted it was difficult for investigators to quantify the financial benefits or "calibrate any gains".
Maurice has been serving her sentence at HMP Bronzefield where she has been described as a "model inmate". She appeared at her sentencing hearing via video link from the prison.
The court heard that Maurice had a previous fraud conviction from August 2015 which involved "impersonating" someone to take a driving theory test, showing similarities to her current offences.
Her defence lawyer, Stephen Akinsanya, described it as "an unusual case" and argued there was "no evidence that she is the mastermind of this" despite the level of sophistication involved.
The Home Office says the Life in the UK test comprises 24 questions designed to prove 'the applicant has sufficient knowledge of British values, history and society'
PA
Akinsanya told the court: "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."
He added that Maurice had been a bus driver with Arriva and was caring for her 25-year-old son who suffers from schizophrenia.
