Haitian jailed for passport fraud

NASSAU – A Haitian man has been jailed for one year for passport fraud.

Aland Bitar, 48, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and attempted fraud before Magistrate Kendra Kelly on December 7.

She sentenced him on Friday, December 17.

On March 2, Bitar, of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, came to New Providence to renew the Bahamian passports of his children, ages 11 and 17.

To support his application, Bitar presented a letter from the police confirming that the passports had been reported lost.

But the passports were not lost. Authorities had cancelled them because they were obtained with fraudulent Bahamian birth certificates.

Eventually, Bitar admitted that his Bahamian wife was not the mother of his children. He said they were born in Haiti before the marriage. Bitar has residency through a spousal permit.

Defence lawyer Nathan Smith said that Bitar broke the law out of ignorance.

He said, “He had, what was in his mind, legitimate passports that he sought to renew. It was an act of ignorance, not of malice.”

Mr Smith said Bitar was not a career criminal, but a hardworking contractor and carpenter.

He said that Bitar was “eager to make amends for his wrongdoing and his insult to the country”.