Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner
Mr Martin Solomon Randolph Kekurah, 64, a Sierra Leone national of Fortune Place, Bermondsey, London, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court on 3 July 2015.
He was found guilty of providing unregulated immigration advice and services.
Mr Kekurah falsely claimed to be a solicitor with Clintons Solicitors, a company which had formerly been in existence but at the time of the offences had ceased trading. Mr Kekurah was not qualified as a solicitor and had no connection to the firm.
Upon sentencing, Judge Nicolas Lorraine Smith said:
Im satisfied you are manipulative and greedy. You have been preying on vulnerable people who needed immigration advice. You knew what you were doing was wrong and you have done everything possible to avoid detection and conviction.
Speaking about the decision, Immigration Services Commissioner, Suzanne McCarthy, said:
Illegally providing immigration advice is a serious offence, and the sentence handed down today reflects this. Peddling illegal immigration advice ruins peoples lives.