An illegal immigrant swindled cash-strapped local

An illegal immigrant swindled cash-strapped local authorities
out of thousands of pounds in student grants, a court heard.

But today (Wed) Nigerian Michael Olusuji, 34, was jailed for
three years for his despicable fraud which ‘deprived’ genuine
students of an education.

The ‘highly sophisticated’ fraud in which Olusuji milked
local authorities by way of dozens of bogus applications for
grants, only came to light thanks to inquiries by immigration
officials who discovered he had no right to be in Britain.

In 1989 an order had been made for Olusoji’s deportation
following an 18 month jail sentence for a bank fraud, Snaresbrook
Crown Court was told.

But he returned the following year and was already planning a
scheme where his thirty fictitious identities could be used – with
forged qualification certificates – to win sought after places at
universities across England.

The London Boroughs of Waltham Forest, Barnet, Newham and
Lewisham, were amongst those who bore the brunt of gambling addict
Olusoji’s dishonesty.

Olusoji, of Esther Road, Leytonstone, e.

London pleaded guilty
to six sample charges of obtaining grants by deception – to the
tune of pnds stlg 5,771 – between July 1991 and his arrest last year.

He also asked for 38 offences of obtaining, or attempting to
obtain, grants by deception, to be taken into consideration.

In all the crimes he admitted netted him more than pnds stlg
20,000.

Olusoji’s attempted offences added up to a sum of more than
pnds stlg 50,000 alone.

Jailing him, Judge Owen Stable, QC, said that ‘this was a a
highly sophisticated fraud on a large number of local authorities.

‘
Judge Stable said that Olusoji carried out his crimes ‘with
great persistence.

‘You even went through the charade of being interviewed by
the person who thought he was to become your tutor although you
had no intention of embarking on courses.

‘Your fraud has deprived others of the education they genuinely
wanted to avail themselves of.

‘
The judge said that all this was at a time when he had ‘no
right to enter this country and no business to be here at all.

Whilst living in this country you have lived by fraud and gambling.

‘
Judge Stable sentenced Olusoji to three years concurrent on each
charge he admitted.

In addition the judge made an order for his deportation to
Nigeria following his serving of the jail term.

The court had that Olusoji had been found with just over pnds
stlg 4,000 in cash when he was arrested.

Judge Stable ordered him to pay pnds stlg 2,015 towards costs
while the rest of his money was divided in compensation to the losing
boroughs.

Charges relating to a housing benefit swindle were denied by
Olusoji.

He was accused of obtaining over pnds stlg 2,500 in from the
London Borough of Newham by deception.

But the prosecution accepted his not guilty pleas and asked
for those charges to remain on the court file.

Mr Ian Paton, prosecuting, had said that at the Esther Road
address on October 28 last year police officers with Home Office
officials carried out a search and ‘found a mass of documentation
relating to this defendant and covering a very large number of
false identities he had created.

‘
The Crown cannot say what Olusoji’s true name is but files
containing thirty idendities were discovered at his address with
24 different Student Union membership cards all bearing his
photograph.

Mr Paton said that in the summer of 1991 Olusoji ‘first embarked
on a particular fraud which seemed to be his speciality.

‘
He would use different addresses with the fictitious identities
and apply to numerous education departments throughout London for
support by way of grants for further education.

The aplication forms were ‘bogus from start to finish’ as were
his certificates of education that were needed to get him places on
courses, the court was told.

Olusuji was undoubtedly assisted by people around London who
allowed him to use their addresses in the application forms he
submitted, said counsel.

Once his claim for funding had been accepted he would inevitably
notify the relevant local authority that he had changed his address
to his ‘principal sphere of operation’ at Esther Road.

One of the first grants he received was for an amount in excess
of pnds stlg 2,000 from the London Borough of Barnet for a place on a
Business and Finance degree course at the Ealing College.

The court heard that a variety of bank accounts he held would
empty soon once the grant cheques were paid in.

In the months before his arrest last year Olusoji targetted the
London Borough of Waltham Forest and variously made applications in
false names.

He claimed in one case that he was to study technology at the
Luton College of Higher Education, and in another take up a combined
science degree at the Neame College in Northamptonshire.

Mr Paton said that Olusoji ‘was not the most diligent of
students’ – a professor of Applied Economics at Bath University saw
him turn up once for a course he had enrolled upon.

Other establishments that offered him the opportunity to study
various subjects at degree level were the University of London, the
East Anglia Polytechnic, and Leicester Polytechnic.

Other local authorities targetted by Olusoji were the London
Boroughs of Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Camden and Hampstead and Fulham.

Mr Paton said that ‘disturbingly’ it was only London’s Imperial
College of Science and Technology who queried some of the fraudulent
documents submitted by Olusoji.

Defending Olusoji, Miss Jane Humphreys, said that the root of
his offending was his ‘addiction to gambling.

‘
The court had heard that when he was arrested officers found a
number of membership cards – all bearing photographs of the defendant
– for 12 different casinos such as the Tiberius Club in Southend,
Essex, and the Sporting Club in Brighton, Sussex.

Miss Humphreys said that Olusoji had in the past been ‘extremely
reluctant’ to discuss the addiction but had recently been receiving
counselling.

‘By discussing now the real nature of his problem it is hopefully
not going to be the problem it was in the past.

‘ added counsel.

Judge Stable had commended Det Con Steven Lane, attached to
Leyton police station, for the ‘quite invaluable’ work he put into
thecase.

ends