A woman was jailed and has been ordered to pay a penalty of more than £27,000 for taking 150 illegal driving tests in England and Wales, according to reports.
Inderjeet Kaur of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, took driving tests for other people in Swansea, Carmarthen, Birmingham and London and earned more than £28,000, police said.
Swansea Crown Court ordered her to pay £27,614 and court costs of £156 within three months. If she didn't pay, she will have to serve one year prison term.
The 29-year-old has already been sentenced for eight months.
Reports said that she had appeared for British Asian women who were not fluent in English and failed at least once in these tests between 2018 and 2020. She charged between £700-800 per test for every applicant.
She was caught after a driving text examiner became suspicious of her actions and reported to police.
Her home was searched in January 2021 and £21,000 was seized. Officers claimed a bundle of £18,000 was linked to the fraud. Kaur was arrested in May 2021.
Detectives in South Wales started an investigation upon referral from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
Investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Steven Maloney, said that her actions put innocent road users at risk as she helped 'unskilled and dangerous motorists' to get legitimate licences.
“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, this complex criminal investigation highlighted the extent of Kaur’s offending which was purely out of greed," Maloney said.
“Kaur’s offending has now been halted, and she has now been brought to justice, and we welcome the sentence imposed by the courts."
As per law, driving tests should be taken in English, Welsh or sign language and an interpreter is not allowed to support the applicant.
While sentencing Kaur, Judge Rees said he had been lenient for the sake of her five-month-old child.
Apsana Begum
