This is an assault on the immigration system, judge tells citizenship test fraudster

Telegraph

20-05-2025

A judge has said a fraudster who wore 13 wigs to take citizenship tests for migrants committed a 'wholesale assault' on the immigration system.
Josephine Maurice, 61, travelled around the country, using a series of disguises and false documents to take the Life in the UK test on behalf of migrants.
She pretended to be 13 different people between June 1 2022 and Aug 14 2023, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Maurice, a former bus driver of Enfield, north London, was jailed for four years and six months after pleading 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 said 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'.
The judge told Maurice, who appeared via video link: '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.'
'Well-organised' scam
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'.
Maurice's defence lawyer, Stephen 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.'
'Coercion and intimidation'
He said: '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.'