Ghanaian woman convicted 35 years in US for faking immigration documents

A US federal jury has convicted a Ghanaian woman to a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison after she was found using a fake identity to get US citizenship.

Lady Jacqueline Locotin, also known as Joyce Amene Obese, a native of Ghana, was convicted in a federal court on one count of unlawfully procuring naturalization, two counts of passport fraud and the misuse of a Social Security number on November 17, 2011, the Alexandria Times reports December 1, 2011.

Citing officials, the publication said Locotin originally entered the country (US) using a fake name and documents in 1992, requesting political asylum.

Jacqueline Locotin received a Social Security number under the Locotin identity while awaiting an immigration hearing scheduled for October 1993 but according to court documents she skipped the hearing and later left the country, but not before having a child in 1996.

In 1997, Alexandria Times reports, further court documents showed that Locotin returned but this time using the name of Joyce Amene Obese to gain a visa. “Though she became a citizen and obtained a US passport using the alias, Locotin never alerted authorities to her previous stay in the country nor the birth of her child,” it adds.

Locotin will be sentenced on February 10, 2012, the publication said.

By Ekow Quandzie