NASSAU-Popular Haitian hairstylist Widline Francoeur has admitted to getting a Bahamian passport by fraud.
Francoeur, 30, of South Ocean Drive, still got a Bahamian passport, although immigration refused her citizenship application in 2013.
An employee at The Bahamas immigration raised the alarm after learning that Smith had a Bahamian passport.
This prompted Financial Crimes to investigate how the businesswoman got her passport.
The inquiry revealed that Francoeur presented forged documents along with her passport application.
Francoeur presented two forged Bahamian birth certificates: one in her name; the other one in the name of her mother, Assaline Smith.
She also presented a forged letter from a policeman stating that she had lost her passport.
Based on these fake documents, Francoeur received Bahamian passport AA071822 in December 2018 were forgeries.
She also admitted to obtaining a Bahamian driver’s license, and an NIB smart card by false pretences.
The investigation also showed that Francoeur had used fraudulent documents when she made her first citizenship investigation.
As a result of the investigation, Francoeur, 30, of South Ocean Drive, was arrested at her Diamond Dash Salon on Bernard Road in 2020.
Francoeur told investigators that she didn’t have the patience to obtain her documents through the proper channels.
She was born in Haiti but came to The Bahamas at age seven.
She was freed on bail pending trial. However, Francoeur decided not to fight the case.
As a result, she pleaded pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud when she appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on November 30.
He imposed fines totalling $7,000, with a default sentence of one year imprisonment.
Francoeur has paid the fines.
