Identity thief sent to jail for nine months

A black identity thief who posed as a 53-year-old white woman from the West Midlands for more than 15 years, has been jailed.

The mystery African woman, whose real name is still unknown, travelled the world purporting to be Carol Anne Keast.

However, the real Carol Anne Keast, who became Carol Anne Payton when she married in 1982, has been living in Great Barr, unaware the impostor obtained a passport in her name using a bogus birth certificate.

The woman pretending to be her was sent to prison for nine months yesterday, but officials are none the wiser as to her true identity, because she has refused to reveal who she really is.

Even her television presenter partner is in the dark. He lived with her in Manchester, but said he "hadn't a clue" who she was.

Mrs Payton, a former bank worker, of Pear Tree Road, said today: "It is a bit silly really because mine is a very unusual name and she is apparently about 20 years younger than me.

"She is of African appearance and I am not. Neither are any of my family. How she thought she was going to travel and get away with it I will never know."

The fraud only came to light when the real Mrs Payton applied to renew her passport in 2009 only to encounter problems with the documents and face interrogation from officials.

The mother-of-two, who lives with her husband John, said: "They said there was already one in my name with the same details. I had to go for an interview and prove who I was.

"I had to take in school documents and the passport authorities asked me questions about my family.

"They did eventually issue me with a passport and I was told that unless this woman used the passport that she had to travel, it would not flag up and they would not be able to chase her.

"I must admit I thought she was never going to be caught."

After Mrs Payton provided proof of her identity, including decades-old school records, an alert was raised for the mystery black woman travelling the world using her name. The impostor was finally stopped and arrested following a break in Marbella in November with her unsuspecting television producer boyfriend Tom Henderson.

It emerged the fraudster had obtained a copy of Carol Anne Keast's birth certificate in 1989 and used to it get a passport in that name in 1995. She renewed it in 2005.

The impostor was unable to give any information to support her claim to be the real Carol Anne Keast, insisting she suffered from memory loss.

During a hearing at Manchester Crown Court, where the woman was sentenced to nine months in prison, prosecutor Mr Sol Broady said: "She is wilfully refusing to identify herself properly, or give her country of origin."

Ms Sarah Johnston, defending, said medical tests had shown her client to be displaying symptoms of depression and mental health "fragilities".

Sending her to prison, Judge Jonathan Geake told the impostor: "You have fooled a number of people, and have been living a lie for a number of years. Your real identity, it would appear to everybody, remains something of a mystery."

The woman could face further action, including contempt of court, if she fails to give information about her identity.

When Mr Henderson, who is aged 54 and worked on action game show Gladiators, was asked if he knew the woman's real identity at the flat they shared, he replied: "I haven't got a clue."

Immigration sources said she was believed to be originally from Ghana or Nigeria and to have arrived in Britain before fingerprints were routinely taken with visa applications. The Home Office said such a case could not happen today due to tougher anti-fraud measures. For example, fingerprints are now taken from overseas visa applicants seeking to travel to Britain and are kept on file.

The impostor also obtained a driving licence under the name Carol Anne Keast and investigators are expected to examine whether she fraudulently claimed benefits during her two decades living a lie.

The case highlights how easy it is for criminals to steal identities and go undetected for years.

It is claimed the fraud hits 1.8 million people every year, many of whom have their financial details stolen, and costs £2.7 billion.

Earlier this year global firm Experian said nationally, fraudulent applications for credit and other financial services have leapt by 11 per cent since 2009 as the number of reported crimes grows and fraudsters reinvent themselves to avoid detection.