A woman caught forging papers in an immigration scam supplied a supportive letter in her bid to avoid jail - but is now in prison because the letter was fake.
Ravina Singh, 32, was sentenced to 11 months' home detention after admitting 30 charges of providing false immigration information, aiding unlawful entry to New Zealand, forgery, and providing immigration advice despite being unlicensed.
She and her husband, Alvin Singh, gained residency after presenting fabricated job offers and a visa application which used forged stamps in the name of a genuine justice of the peace. Singh used her residence status to bring her parents from Fiji with false job offers, from which they later gained residency.
The lies were unravelled by Immigration New Zealand investigators but she continued to perpetuate the fraud at her sentencing in 2011.
She produced a letter which stated she was a valued employee and could continue working for her employer after sentencing. The letter of support helped convince the judge to sentence her to home detention, rather than prison.
