A woman who travelled around the country to complete false UK citizenship tests has been jailed for four years and six months.
A series of wigs and false documents were the tools used by Josephine Maurice, 61, as she pretended to be 13 different people in order to take the Life in the UK Test between June 1 2022 and August 14 2023, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Maurice, a former bus driver and of Enfield, north London, had pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud, a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud and two counts of possession of another person’s identity documents.
District Judge Anthony Callaway, sentencing on Tuesday, described Maurice’s actions as “wholesale assault” on the immigration system and there was a “clear advantage” to people who wanted to progress towards citizenship without following all the procedures.
The Life in the UK Test is a requirement for anyone seeking to obtain indefinite leave to remain or naturalisation as a British citizen.
According to the Home Office, it consists of 24 questions aimed at “proving the applicant has sufficient knowledge of British values, history and society”.
Her defence lawyer Stephen Akinsanya told the court that Maurice was not the mastermind of the scam but the offences could potentially 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 but got sucked into “something far more serious than she envisioned”.
The judge told Maurice who appeared via videolink: “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 clear that the fraud was deliberate and sophisticated and involved the alteration of identity documents, travel documents, false wigs and other matters.
“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 were found at her home after her arrest earlier this year.
Maurice has a previous fraud conviction dating back to August 2015 and “there are similarities” to the current case as it involved her “impersonating” someone in order to take a driving theory test, the judge said.
Maurice appeared via video link from HMP Bronzefield where she has been a “model inmate”.
Earlier prosecutor Nana Owusuh said it is difficult for investigators to quantify the financial benefits of the “well organised” scam or to “calibrate any gains”.
Mr Akinsanya described it as “an unusual case” and told the court that for the “level of sophistication and planning – the crown has provided no evidence that she is the mastermind of this.”
He said: “Clearly in my submission, this is someone who has found herself involved in something far more serious 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 said: “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 said: “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 done and for national security, and the court can treat such matters harshly.”
Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra said: “Today’s sentence serves as strong evidence that this Government will use every tool at its disposal to root out abhorrent immigration offenders and ensure they face the full force of the law for undermining our laws and putting the UK’s border security at risk.
“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.
“I would like to thank our Criminal Financial Investigations team for their continued dedication to making the UK a safer place by ensuring that criminals like Maurice who participate in this evil trade are brought to justice.”
