£22K BENEFIT CHEAT FACING BOOT FROM UK

Mum jailed after using false documents

BENEFIT cheat Kiranpreet Sidhu has been jailed after duping the state out of more than £22,000.

The 30-year-old was in the UK illegally when she obtained a false Portuguese identity document and passport – and used them to obtain £22,897.54 in benefits.

She also used a fraudulent passport to allow her husband to enter the country illegally.

Now Sidhu has been jailed for 20 months at Stoke-on-trent Crown Court.

Indian national Sidhu had entered the UK on September 3, 2012 on a 12-month student visa. A further student visa was granted until December 26, 2014.

Prosecutor Nick Tatlow said: “At some point she adopted the identity of a Portuguese national and in that name she acquired a Portuguese identity card. That identity card expired in June 2028 so would have been obtained 10 years before then. She applied for, and was allowed, a National Insurance number in that name.

“She also acquired a Portuguese passport in a false name which was issued on June 14, 2018.

“Using these documents the defendant was able to obtain a UK passport and driving licence which were issued on October 24, 2018.”

The defendant married her husband in 2018.

Mr Tatlow added: “The prosecution accepts that the marriage reflected a genuine relationship. On December 18, 2018 the defendant submitted an online application for status as an EU citizen. On the same day her husband submitted an application for a permit allowing him to reside in the UK. She attended an interview and her application was granted on January 25, 2019. A residence card was granted for him on October 30, 2019.”

The defendant used her false identity documents to obtain £22,897.54 in benefits, including £5,829.12 in maternity allowance, £676.30 child benefits and more than £16,000 in Universal Credit.

Police arrested the defendant at her home in Cliffe Vale at 6.15am on October 6 this year.

Mr Tatlow added: “The documents were all fraudulent from the outset and it persisted over a period of 18 months.

“She has no entitlement to reside in this country. It is anticipated that steps will be taken for deportation.”

Sidhu, of Revanth Place, Cliffe Vale, pleaded guilty to fraud, assisting unlawful immigration to a member state and three offences of ‘possessing an identity document with improper intention’.

Sukhdev Garcha, mitigating, said the defendant is a mum who has no previous convictions.

He added: “Upon completing her sentence she will be taken into the detention of the immigration services.”