$70,000 for lying to get US visa

A woman who admitted to concocting a plan with her friend to lie to the United States Embassy about having money in her bank account was fined $70,000 when she appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court recently.

The accused, Candy Johnson, a small business operator, pleaded guilty to the charges of uttering a forged document and conspiracy to commit forgery.

The court heard that on February 5, Johnson prepared forged bank statements and presented them at the US Embassy when applying for a visa. The forged statement claimed she was the owner of an account with a certain sum at a credit union.

However, checks later revealed that was a lie.

bank statement

Johnson admitted to the court that she did not own an account with the credit union, but her friend, who works at the institution, claimed she would prepare the bank statement.

"I told my friend who works at the bank that I was going to apply for the visa and she said I have a small business so she will help me. I didn't know it was forged because it looked real to me," she said

When Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey asked Johnson if she should be sent to prison for her actions, her response was, "No. I am six months pregnant."

Pusey replied, "We have crib over there enuh and you can get pampers to buy."

She then informed Johnson that she could have been sent to prison for five years, and handed down her sentence which was $50,000 or six months for uttering forged documents, and $20,000 for conspiracy.