A WOMAN claimed more than £35,000 in benefits using a false passport, a court heard yesterday.

Oxford Crown Court was told that Grace Jinjika, 37, who lives in Flatford Place, Kidlington, was given a visa to say she could stay in the UK for six months when she arrived in 2000 from Zimbabwe.

But the jury was told she bought a new passport with a forged Home Office letter giving her “indefinite leave to remain” for £1,000 from a person she said was a lawyer.

She is now on trial at Oxford Crown Court facing eight charges, all of which she denies.

The charges are: cheating the public revenue by claiming £33,393 in benefits between May 2005 and December 2012; cheating the public revenue by claiming £2,131 in benefits between March 13 and October 13, 2013; four charges of dishonestly producing or allowing to be produced false documents to claim benefits; using a false Home Office “leave to remain” letter and inducing a person into accepting it as a Government document in May 2005 and possessing a Zimbabwean passport with a false Home Office stamp in June 2013.

Ms Jinjika listened as Department of Work and Pensions criminal investigator Nicky Pitsillos read a transcript of their interview in November 13, in which Ms Pitsillos said: “Your application was refused and you knew when you were only here for six months in 2000.

“You knew from the time you arrived in the UK you couldn’t claim any benefits”, to which Ms Jinjika replied “yes”.

The trial continues.

Our top stories

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.