Nigerian ID Thief's £14K Benefit Fraud

The Two Faces Of Brinsley Holman: Fake (Top) & Genuine (Bottom)

A Nigerian fraudster, who was issued a genuine British passport despite being a different race to the corporate stockbroker whose identity he hijacked, has been jailed for fifteen months.

The genuine Brinsley Holman, 47, (pic.bottom) was held at Madrid's Barajas International Airport for five hours on a European Arrest Warrant when he flew in on a family holiday because of a Polish fraud committed by the impostor.

His true identity is not known, but he continues to claim he is the true Leigh-on-Sea born Holman and used the passport to illegally claim over £14,500 in benefits and secure British citizenship for his daughter.

Bizarrely the defendant, (pic.top) of Wellington House, Rodwell Close, Ruislip was prosecuted at Isleworth Crown Court under his fake Holman name and he will be extradited to Poland on completion of his sentence to serve three-and-a-half years for fraud and forgery.

The genuine Holman was the victim of a burglary at his home in Waldemar Avenue, Fulham on June 22, 2000 and his old-style passport was taken.

He reported it stolen, but despite this the defendant used it to obtain a replacement passport with his own photograph in it in 2006.

"The old passport was deemed good evidence of legitimacy so extra checks did not take place," explained prosecutor Mr. Mark Himsworth. "The person in the dock is identified as Brinsley Holman, but that is not really his name.

"The photograph in the original passport was very obviously a white man and the defendant is obviously black.

"The Crown say this defendant has replaced the photograph of the white Mr. Holman with a photo of himself."

The Spanish authorities eventually released the genuine Holman after receiving a photograph of the defendant, but he was stopped again on the same warrant when he returned to the UK.

"The Crown say that this was an audacious identity theft and benefit fraud," Mr. Himsworth told the jury. 

"The defendant applied for a replacement passport using his own photograph and the passport office issued a valid British passport with the same date of birth as the genuine Mr. Holman.

"He was applying for a passport he must have known he was not entitled to and it was issued despite the fact the genuine Mr. Holman reported it stolen.

"The defendant then adopted the identity of Brinsley Holman and applied for a Nigerian passport in that name and applied for a British passport for his daughter in the name of Holman."

The defendant successfully claimed jobseekers allowance in January 2010, using the Holman passport as proof of identity and citizenship, and also received child benefit.

He was eventually caught out after moving to the London Borough of Hillingdon and applying for housing benefit and council tax benefit in April, 2011.

When quizzed the defendant insisted he was born Brinsley Holman in Essex to a Nigerian mother and Caribbean father, but was raised in the West African country.

The jury convicted him of possession of an improperly obtained British passport, with intent, and dishonestly making a false representation to obtain  benefit on or about April 27, 2011.