The Tribune

A HAITIAN woman who initially denied attempting to fraudulently obtain Bahamian citizenship yesterday admitted to the offence and was fined $7,000.

Last year, Widline Francoeur was charged with attempted fraud by false pretences, three counts of fraud by false pretences and two counts each of possession of a false document and uttering the same.

She was also charged with four counts of possession of a forged document.

At the time, she denied the allegations and the matter was adjourned for trial. However, at the start of the trial before Magistrate Samuel McKinney yesterday, the beautician changed her plea to guilty.

Police said Francoeur obtained a passport from the Bahamas Passport Office in December 2018 under false pretences. They also said she fraudulently obtained a driver’s licence from the Road Traffic Department in August 2019 and a smart card from the National Insurance Board in May 2019.

Prosecutors said Francoeur was also found with a fake Bahamian passport and fraudulent Bahamian birth certificate in March and May of last year.

The court was told that in November 2019, a representative from the Department of Immigration reported a fraud matter in respect to Francoeur, who had applied for naturalisation. The prosecution said a subsequent police search led to the woman’s arrest a short time later.

When officers executed a search warrant on Francoeur’s home, they found the fake documents. After visiting the various agencies and offices from which the government IDs appeared to be issued, they learned that all of the documents in Francoeur’s possession had been “acquired fraudulently”. The prosecution said police also discovered Francoeur had presented them for “additional benefits”.

When she was questioned in police custody, she admitted the offences and told officers she was born in Haiti, but moved to The Bahamas at the age of seven. According to the prosecutor, Francoeur also said she “did not have the patience to go through the red tape to acquire status the legitimate way”.

After she pleaded guilty yesterday, Francoeur was fined $7,000 or one year at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. Magistrate McKinney said $5,000 of the fine had to be paid before she was released and gave her until January 2022 to pay off the balance.