Post by ginnyg2 on May 6, 2024 14:05:59 GMT
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/struck-solicitor-exploited-grenfell-tower-32743282
A former solicitor who exploited both the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the Windrush scheme to submit fraudulent immigration applications has been jailed.
Flora Mendes rustled up fake addresses in Grenfell Tower as part of a deceptive scheme to convince 14 immigrants she was a legitimate immigration lawyer who could help secure them residence in the UK. She also also exploited the Windrush scheme, seeking to provide immigration services to five people without being qualified.
All these offences were committed despite the 45-year-old Indian national being struck off as a solicitor in 2015. The defendant from Luton, who had previously pleaded guilty to all 15 charges, appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Friday where she was sentenced to a total of seven and a half years in prison.
The court heard Mendes had been kicked out of the legal profession after being found guilty of providing unregulated immigration advice. Despite this, she continued to offer immigration services and charged 14 people an average of £2,800 per application. Between October 2020 and March 2021, she exploited a Home Office immigration concession for any survivors who lost their homes in the Grenfell Tower fire.
A former solicitor who exploited both the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the Windrush scheme to submit fraudulent immigration applications has been jailed.
Flora Mendes rustled up fake addresses in Grenfell Tower as part of a deceptive scheme to convince 14 immigrants she was a legitimate immigration lawyer who could help secure them residence in the UK. She also also exploited the Windrush scheme, seeking to provide immigration services to five people without being qualified.
All these offences were committed despite the 45-year-old Indian national being struck off as a solicitor in 2015. The defendant from Luton, who had previously pleaded guilty to all 15 charges, appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Friday where she was sentenced to a total of seven and a half years in prison.
The court heard Mendes had been kicked out of the legal profession after being found guilty of providing unregulated immigration advice. Despite this, she continued to offer immigration services and charged 14 people an average of £2,800 per application. Between October 2020 and March 2021, she exploited a Home Office immigration concession for any survivors who lost their homes in the Grenfell Tower fire.
