Woman fined $100,000 for false passport declaration

A St James woman, who admitted to having applied for a British passport using a fictitious name in 2003, was hit with a $100,000 fine or 30 days' imprisonment when she appeared in the St James Parish Court on Wednesday.

Carmelia Duncan, 42, got the fine from presiding judge Sasha-Marie Ashley after pleading guilty to making a false declaration.

The court was told that on February 4, 2024, the authorities received information that Duncan was the subject of a dual-identity probe and summoned her for an interview at the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency.

According to the information that was received, a passport in the name Juliann Lekeisha Green was issued to Duncan on June 26, 2003, though it had not been used.

When questioned, Duncan revealed that she had travelled to the United Kingdom in 2001, and was later removed from that country after overstaying past the two weeks she had been allotted. She was subsequently assisted in getting another passport under a different name, but claimed that she had not received the document.

Judge Ashley, in handing down the sentence, said she considered several factors, including the fact that Duncan had no prior convictions.

"I take into account that you pleaded guilty at the earliest possibility...you were cooperative, and there is no record of travel on that passport. I take into account your age and your previous clean record," said Ashley.