Catherine Kyie: Cleaner used dead woman's ID to con her way into Britain

A court heard the mother-of-three claimed family tax credits, child benefit payments and worked as an NHS cleaner for eight years

Catherine Kyie

A woman stole a dead mum’s identity to con her way into Britain and then defrauded taxpayers out of £104,000.

Catherine Kyie, 33, from Ghana, was jailed yesterday for the scam.

A court heard mother-of-three Kyie claimed family tax credits, child benefit payments and worked as an NHS cleaner for eight years.

Kyie had pretended to be Joyce Pokuaa, another Ghanaian woman who married a Dutch man but died three months after giving birth to their son in 2003.

Kyie stole her identity and was free to live in Britain because of Joyce’s marriage to an EU citizen.
Kenneth Boateng, 45, also Ghanaian, pretended to be Kyie’s husband so he could move to the UK in 2005.

The couple were rumbled when Joyce’s son applied for a passport.

Roger Griffiths, prosecuting, told Cardiff crown court: “He was unable to travel because it was discovered his passport had been renewed in 2009 by Boateng and a woman claiming to be his mother, although she’d been dead for five or six years.”

Mr Griffiths said the passport was found at Kyie and Boateng’s home.

“Police also discovered a Dutch identity card and a passport in the name of Joyce Pokuaa but showing Kyie’s photograph,” he added.

The court heard the youngest two of their three children, aged five, seven and 10, were born in the UK.

The family lived in Newport, South Wales, for eight years before they were caught.
Claire Pickthall, defending Kyie, said: “It is a serious offence and she accepts her motivation was gain.

“But the gain was only to come to the UK to have a better life for herself and her family – nothing more sinister. "She has worked hard all the time she has been here.”

Judge Patrick Murphy told Kyie and Boateng, who both pleaded guilty to fraud, that their children were the innocent victims.

He said: “You took the chance – they will pay the price.”

Kyie was jailed for 15 months and Boateng for a year. Both will be deported after their sentences.

Credit/source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/catherine-kyie-cleaner-used-dead-2020443

Paulina says: Such a sad story...........................