Bogus Adviser Jailed for Providing Illegal Immigration Advice

06/10/2008

A bogus adviser who falsely claimed to be a solicitor was jailed today (6 October) at Basildon Crown Court for fraud and illegally providing immigration advice to clients.

Imo Okon Ema, 42, initially pleaded not guilty to two charges of fraud and two charges of illegally providing immigration advice. However, he changed his plea to guilty at the trial in September.

Ema, of William Street, Grays, Essex, met one of his victims while loitering in the lobby of an Asylum and Immigration Tribunal centre, where the victim was attending a hearing, and falsely claimed to be an immigration solicitor. However, he was not qualified or registered with the OISC to provide immigration advice, nor did he have any links with the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. The victim was desperate to secure Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, as she wanted to visit her terminally ill father in Japan. Ema took over £1,000 from the victim on the basis he would deal with this matter, but never carried out any work.

He also tried to persuade another female victim from whom he had taken £1,330, and did no work for, to lie on his behalf when he became aware that the OISC was investigating his illegal activities.

Ema was sentenced to nine months imprisonment for each of the four offences with all sentences to run concurrently.

The sentence was welcomed by the OISC, which worked in partnership with Essex Police to secure Ema's conviction. An OISC spokesman said: "The victims in this case were in desperate situations and Ema took exploited them for his own financial gain. Illegally providing immigration advice is a serious matter and can ruin lives."

The OISC currently regulates almost 4,000 advisers across the UK and provides a list of those allowed to give advice on its website - www.oisc.gov.uk

Notes to the Editor:

  1. The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) is an independent public body set up under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
  2. It is a criminal offence to give immigration advice or services in the UK unless you are regulated by the OISC, a regulated solicitor, barrister or legal executive or European equivalent or exempted by Ministerial Order.
  3. For more information contact Addeel Khan, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Officer at the OISC, on 020 7211 1630.