Four individuals have been sentenced to prison for forging over 2,000 marriage certificates to enable illegal residency in the UK.
Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, 41, Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, 38, Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi, 31, and Adekunle Kabir, 54, were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in London on Tuesday.
According to the Home Office, the four were part of an organized criminal network that submitted fraudulent EU Settlement Scheme applications on behalf of Nigerian nationals.
The criminal activities took place between March 2019 and May of last year. The group was also found to have provided false Nigerian Customary Marriage Certificates and other forged documents to help applicants remain in the country.
A joint investigation by the Home Office in the UK and Lagos revealed that the group, all of whom are Nigerian, facilitated the production of over 2,000 false marriage documents.
Paul Moran, Chief Immigration Officer at the Home Office, stated, “This group was relentless in their efforts to exploit our borders and have rightly faced justice.
“Like many criminal gangs we encounter, their primary motive was financial gain. I am proud that my team was able to disrupt their operation, and I hope these convictions serve as a strong deterrent to others who seek to exploit people’s desperation to stay in the UK.
“We will continue our efforts to secure our borders and crack down on gangs that prey on vulnerable individuals for profit.”