Inderjeet Kaur is reported to have charged 800 pounds for impersonations. (Representational)
A 29-year-old Indian-origin woman has been sentenced to eight months in prison after admitting impersonating at least 150 people to appear for driving tests on their behalf across different parts of the United Kingdom.
Inderjeet Kaur admitted to having concluded approximately 150 theory and practical driving tests on behalf of candidates between 2018 and 2020.
She committed the offences throughout England and Wales, including Swansea, Carmarthen, Birmingham and around London, and pleaded guilty at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday when she was sentenced.
"The crimes Inderjeet Kaur committed circumvent the driving test process and in turn puts innocent road users at risk, by allowing unskilled and dangerous motorists to have seemingly legitimate licences," said Detective Chief Inspector Steven Maloney of South Wales Police.
"Safety on our roads has always been a priority and arresting those that flaunt the law ensures that we can keep unqualified drivers off the road. By working with the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency), this complex criminal investigation highlighted the extent of Inderjeet Kaur's offending which was purely out of greed. Inderjeet Kaur's offending has now been halted, and she has now been brought to justice, and we today welcome the sentence imposed by the courts," he said.
"Frauds such as these pose significant risks to the general public and I urge any members of the public with information on such crimes to report them to the police or even anonymously via crime stoppers," he added.
Inderjeet Kaur is reported to have charged around 800 pounds from each of those she impersonated. She came under the scanner as suspicion grew among staff at the test centres that she was impersonating genuine candidates while taking the test.
Following a referral from the DVSA, an investigation was launched by Tarian, the regional organised crime team for southern Wales. The investigation uncovered Inderjeet Kaur was offering services to test applicants who had difficulty with the English language.
"DVSA's priority is to protect everyone from unsafe drivers and vehicles. Driving and theory tests exist to help ensure people have the correct knowledge, skills and attitude to drive on our roads," said Caroline Hicks, DVSA's Head Regulatory Services & Transformation.
"Circumventing the tests puts lives in danger, we have methods in place to detect test fraud and will come down hard on the people involved. This includes cancelling test passes that have been gained fraudulently," she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)