Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner
On Thursday 26 October 2017 at the Barkingside Magistrates Court, Mr James Yaw Appiah, aged 86 years of Cambridge Park Road, London, pleaded guilty to one charge of providing unregulated immigration advice and one charge of fraud relating to the same incident, between 1 February 2015 and 14 September 2016.
Mr Appiah was sentenced to 24 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay compensation of 1,550 to the victim, 400 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of 115.
In sentencing Judge Gary Lucie said:
The offences are serious as the person you advised is vulnerable and you told him to lie to the authorities. Your intervention did not help him, the offences are so serious only custody can be justified.
Speaking about the decision, Deputy Immigration Services Commissioner Dr Ian Leigh said:
Illegally providing immigration advice is a serious offence, and the sentence handed down today reflects this. Peddling illegal immigration advice ruins peoples lives.