Inderjeet Kaur allegedly charged £800 for imitations. (representative)
London:
A 29-year-old woman of Indian descent has been sentenced to eight months in prison after admitting she impersonated at least 150 people to take driving tests on their behalf in various parts of the UK.
Inderjeet Kaur admitted to taking approximately 150 theoretical and practical exams for candidates between 2018 and 2020.
She committed the crimes across England and Wales, including Swansea, Carmarthen, Birmingham and around London, and pleaded guilty to the Swansea Crown Court on Thursday when she was convicted.
“The crimes committed by Inderjeet Kaur circumvent the driving test and in turn endanger innocent road users by allowing uneducated and dangerous motorists to hold apparently legitimate driver’s licenses,” said South Wales Police Superintendent Steven Maloney.
“Safety on our roads has always been a priority and arresting those who flaunt the law allows us to keep unqualified drivers off the road. Working with the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency), this complex “The criminal investigation has made clear the magnitude of Inderjeet. Kaur’s offense that was purely out of greed. Inderjeet Kaur’s offense has now been halted and she has now been brought to trial, and we welcome today the verdict issued by the courts,” he said.
“Frauds such as this pose a significant risk to the general public and I urge all members of the public with information about such crimes to report it to the police or even anonymously through crime stoppers,” he added.
Inderjeet Kaur is said to have charged about £800 from each of those she impersonated. She came under the scanner as suspicion grew among test center staff that she was posing as real candidates while taking the test.
Following a referral from the DVSA, an investigation was launched by Tarian, the South Wales Regional Organized Crime Team. The investigation found that Inderjeet Kaur offered services to test candidates who had difficulties with the English language.
“DVSA’s priority is to protect everyone from unsafe drivers and vehicles. Driving and theory tests exist to ensure people have the right knowledge, skills and attitude to drive on our roads,” said Caroline Hicks, DVSA’s Head of Regulatory Services & Transformation.
“Bypassing the tests puts lives at risk, we have methods in place to detect test fraud and will take a crackdown on the people involved. This includes canceling test passes fraudulently obtained,” she said.
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