23rd August, 2019
Maria Adesanya, a Nigerian immigrant and mother of a five-year-old child faces deportation from the UK after she was found guilty of bribing a male NHS nurse to pose as her baby daughter’s father so that her child could get a British passport.
Adesanya, 31, paid £3,000 to UK citizen and Nigerian-born Adekunle Adeparusi, 44, to put his name down as the father on the child’s birth certificate.
Adeparusi then pocketed a further £13,000 that he claimed in child tax credits even though he had no role in the daughter’s life.
The pair hatched the plan in January 2014, three months after pregnant Adesanya entered the UK on an eight-month visitors VISA. They were only caught in February 2015 after the mother applied for a Derivative Authority Card.
During this time the mother found work using the ID cards of two EU nationals, a Portuguese and a Dutch citizen.
The child, now aged five, is thought to still be living in the UK.
At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Adesanya, from Bury, was sentenced to 14 months in jail but immediately released on licence as she had been under curfew since October.
She was found guilty of false representation and possessing false ID documents.
Adeparusi, from Gravesend in Kent, was jailed for 33 months after admitting making a false statement with intent.
Sentencing Adesanya, Judge John Edwards said: ‘This really was a performance of incredible stupidity by you.
‘You have a child out of wedlock which is frowned on by your culture and feared what would happen to you and your child if you returned to Nigeria.
‘The effect to them of their mother serving a period in prison would be shattering.
‘You have spent 10 months worrying about your future and your children’s future. Being separated from the children would have a significant detrimental effect on their emotional wellbeing.
‘But you displayed a blatant disregard for the immigration laws in this country. What you did was disgraceful and dishonest.’
When sentencing Adeparusi, the judge said: ‘Organised immigration crime such as that which you engaged in can have and does have a significant impact on public funds and confidence, and the abuse of documents and the lawful exercise of the right to enter this country goes to the heart of the system which all of us rely on.
‘When you came to this country in March 2007 and settled down with your family in Kent, qualifying as a nurse, I’m satisfied you intended to lead a constructive and contributing life.
‘But that all ended when you met Ms Adesanya. You lied face to face to the registrar and the passport office and it didn’t end there.
‘This was a highly devised and lucrative scheme, these are charges which completely undermine the integrity of the immigration system and garnered you a significant amount of money.’
Read More in Daily Mail