A bigamist bride who married an illegal immigrant in a sham marriage has walked free from court after she helped police to track down the 'broker'.
Married mother-of-four Alena Kurejova, 35, was paid £950 to wed Nigerian Oladotun Ogundari, 31, while her real husband was in Slovakia.
She later claimed she had done it for the money as her children had not eaten for three days.
When she was arrested, she declared that she had married Ogundari 'under force' before giving police the details of the broker who set it up, which led to an arrest.
Kurejova, from Bradford, was given a 52-week jail sentence, suspended for a year, at Burnley Crown Court after admitting bigamy, assisting unlawful immigration to a member state and making a false statement with reference to marriage. She was also ordered to complete 180 hours unpaid work.
Fake groom Ogundari, of Bellhouse Road, Sheffield, had pleaded guilty to possessing a false passport with intent to deceive, obtaining leave to remain in the UK by deception and making a false statement with reference to marriage.
The new father, who has a heart complaint, was locked up for 15 months. He has been in this country since 2004 and faces deportation after his sentence.
The bogus marriage was one of a string to take place in Accrington, Lancashire, and while the majority of participants have been jailed by Judge Beverley Lunt, Kurejova was one of two bigamist brides to have walked free from court.
The other bride was spared jail and given a suspended sentence after the court heard her real husband was seriously ill.
All of the other women involved, which include a mother and daughter-in-law, have been sent to prison for around 16 months.
Judge Lunt said Kurejova's case was significantly different from the others she had so far heard, was wholly exceptional and it took courage to do what Kurejova had done.
Judge Lunt said: 'The brokers are the people at the heart of these cases, who profit from the misery of others. They hide in the background and it's very difficult to catch them.'
Stephen Parker, prosecuting, said in February 2009, both defendants attended St Peter's vicarage in Accrington, and an affidavit was completed in support of an application for a marriage licence.
Ogundari produced a fake Nigerian passport and documents claiming to show he and Kurejova lived at Blackburn Road, in Accrington.
A licence was granted and the pair married in March where they both signed the register stating that as their address. Both were later arrested.
Ogundari, who did not actually apply to the Home Office to stay, said it had cost him his life savings of £6,200 to pay for the marriage. He had been provided with a Nigerian passport and the wedding had been arranged.
Ogundari was upset and emotional when interviewed and said he didn't want to be deported as his brothers and sister were here and he wanted to be with them.
He said he did not apply to stay after the marriage as he knew what he had done was wrong.
Kurejova was arrested and claimed: 'I married him but it was under force.'
She said she had been offered £150 to hand over her passport, she couldn't remember her groom's name and was given a further £800 on the wedding day.
At the time the marriage had taken place, her husband had been in Slovakia.
Married mother-of-four Alena Kurejova, 35, was paid £950 to wed Nigerian Oladotun Ogundari, 31, while her real husband was in Slovakia.
She later claimed she had done it for the money as her children had not eaten for three days.
For richer for poorer: Married mother-of-four Alena Kurejova, 35, was paid £950 to wed Nigerian Oladotun Ogundari, 31, while her real husband was in Slovakia
Kurejova, from Bradford, was given a 52-week jail sentence, suspended for a year, at Burnley Crown Court after admitting bigamy, assisting unlawful immigration to a member state and making a false statement with reference to marriage. She was also ordered to complete 180 hours unpaid work.
Fake groom Ogundari, of Bellhouse Road, Sheffield, had pleaded guilty to possessing a false passport with intent to deceive, obtaining leave to remain in the UK by deception and making a false statement with reference to marriage.
The new father, who has a heart complaint, was locked up for 15 months. He has been in this country since 2004 and faces deportation after his sentence.
The bogus marriage was one of a string to take place in Accrington, Lancashire, and while the majority of participants have been jailed by Judge Beverley Lunt, Kurejova was one of two bigamist brides to have walked free from court.
The other bride was spared jail and given a suspended sentence after the court heard her real husband was seriously ill.
All of the other women involved, which include a mother and daughter-in-law, have been sent to prison for around 16 months.
Judge Lunt said Kurejova's case was significantly different from the others she had so far heard, was wholly exceptional and it took courage to do what Kurejova had done.
Judge Lunt said: 'The brokers are the people at the heart of these cases, who profit from the misery of others. They hide in the background and it's very difficult to catch them.'
Stephen Parker, prosecuting, said in February 2009, both defendants attended St Peter's vicarage in Accrington, and an affidavit was completed in support of an application for a marriage licence.
Ogundari produced a fake Nigerian passport and documents claiming to show he and Kurejova lived at Blackburn Road, in Accrington.
A licence was granted and the pair married in March where they both signed the register stating that as their address. Both were later arrested.
Ogundari, who did not actually apply to the Home Office to stay, said it had cost him his life savings of £6,200 to pay for the marriage. He had been provided with a Nigerian passport and the wedding had been arranged.
Ogundari was upset and emotional when interviewed and said he didn't want to be deported as his brothers and sister were here and he wanted to be with them.
He said he did not apply to stay after the marriage as he knew what he had done was wrong.
Kurejova was arrested and claimed: 'I married him but it was under force.'
She said she had been offered £150 to hand over her passport, she couldn't remember her groom's name and was given a further £800 on the wedding day.
At the time the marriage had taken place, her husband had been in Slovakia.
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