Police hunt ID fraudster evading jail sentence

On Wednesday, 26 February 2020, at Wood Green Crown Court, Emmanuel Forson was sentenced in his absence to nine months in prison. There is now a warrant out for his imprisonment. Last July a jury at Blackfriars Crown Court unanimously found him guilty in absentia of two counts of possessing documents for an improper purpose, contrary to the Identity Documents Act 2010.

Forson is a Ghanaian national who applied for a door supervision licence in September 2017. Part of the application process involves verifying an applicant’s identity and their right to work in the UK. Forson sent the Security Industry Authority (SIA) a counterfeit UK biometric residence permit, which was detected by SIA's decision officers in conjunction with the National Document Fraud Unit.

SIA investigators contacted the Home Office, who revealed that Mr Forson is in the UK illegally having overstayed his 2007 visa. Despite several attempts by investigators to contact Forson, he failed to attend interviews or cooperate. 

As a result, SIA proceeded to prosecution.

Forson then failed to engage with the judicial process, and missed a hearing at Thames Magistrates’ Court in September 2018. The Metropolitan Police Service arrested him for a further count of fraud when he tried to open a Metro Bank account in London on 01 February 2019. His arrest was also in relation to SIA's prosecution.

Nathan Salmon, a SIA criminal investigations manager, said: “Forson was this week sentenced to nine-months imprisonment and now has a criminal record. He is currently evading justice which will make it problematic for him to live legitimately in the UK.  

"Forson has been found to behave in a way that is not fit and proper. He is a convicted fraudster who would be unsuitable for the private security industry. 

"By his actions he thought he could cheat the system and has repeatedly tried to use fake documents to appear legitimate.

"We work with all government agencies and in this case with the Metropolitan Police Service, the Home Office, the National Document Fraud Unit, HM Visa and Immigration, and the Crown Prosecution Service. We will report back once Forson has been incarcerated.”

Forson has been known to reside in both the London and Luton areas. Anyone with information on his whereabouts can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.