Law firm staff jailed for forgery

Enaharo was described as the "mastermind" of the scam

A law firm manager has been jailed for seven years for a scam which could have allowed hundreds of people to illegally settle in the UK.

Francis Enaharo, of Macauley Blackman solicitors in south-east London, sold forged documents stating the bearer had lived in the UK for at least 14 years.

Co-defendant Olumuyiwa Akinrin, 45, was jailed for four years, and Grace O' Connor, 50, was given five years.

All three had denied assisting unlawful immigration at Southwark Crown Court.

Enaharo's address was given as Gravesend, Kent; O' Connor is from Lewisham, south-east London; and Akinrin is from Southwark, south London.

The profits for this must have been lucrative indeed Judge Taylor

Under Home Office rules immigrants who can prove they have lived in the UK unlawfully for 14 years can claim indefinite leave to remain.

Enaharo's "complete service" to help people cheat the rules struck "at the very heart" of Britain's immigration system, the court heard.

He was caught when officers raided the office in connection with a separate mortgage fraud.

They found hundreds of faked documents in support of residence claims with tell-tale mistakes.

O'Connor and Akinrin were sentenced to five and four years respectively

Faked gas bills said "cobic feet" instead of "cubic feet" and a pricelist for the forged documents was recovered.

An undercover officer pretending to be a Ghanaian illegal immigrant then made an appointment with the firm.

He bought a faked NHS card, utility bills and bank statements that Enaharo said would buy him a legal life in Britain.

Judge Deborah Taylor told Enaharo: "You were at the very centre of this conspiracy.

"You were an organiser in this business - the profits for this must have been lucrative indeed.

"This is a very serious offence involving sustained, planned and sophisticated offending. In my judgement these offences are clearly towards the top of the scale for offending of this kind."