An American woman, who is wanted in the United States, was yesterday sentenced to 18 months in a local jail for forging a passport and trying to use it to bypass immigration officials.
A city court heard that between January 1 and August 12, 2016, at Georgetown, Stacy Hamilton, 44, of Texas, USA, conspired with persons known or unknown and forged a Republic of Guyana passport under the name Tara Ashley Vaughn as having been issued by the Central Immigration and Passport Office.
It was also alleged that on August 12, at Lethem, Rupununi, with intent to defraud, Hamilton uttered the forged passport to an immigration officer.
Hamilton, who was represented by attorney Paul Fung-A-Fat, pleaded guilty to both of the charges when they were read to her by Magistrate Fabayo Azore.
According to Police Prosecutor Deniro Jones, Hamilton, who was charged with an offence in America and then skipped the country while on bail, came to Guyana and conspired with persons to forge a passport to go to Brazil. Jones said that at the immigration landing at Lethem, Hamilton gave her passport to the immigration clerk, who realised upon checking it that it was a forged document. Hamilton told police that she paid US$1,500 for the passport.
When Hamilton was given a chance to speak, she told the court that what the prosecutor said was the truth.
Fung-A-Fat said that Hamilton was living in Guyana for over a year and was encouraged by persons to forge the passport. He said the police in the United States have contacted his client and they will handle her as soon as she is deported back to the country.
However, the magistrate sentenced Hamilton to 18 months in prison on both charges. The sentences will run concurrently.
