London borough prosecutes parent for forging document in school place bid

A London borough has prosecuted a woman for forging a document to try to get her child into one of its schools, in what is thought to be the first case of its kind to come to court.

The London Borough of Havering took the case against Lura Pacheco, 34, who lives in from Chadwell Heath, in the neighbouring borough of Barking & Dagenham. She was charged under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act.

Ms Pacheco was fined £500 and sentenced to 100 hours’ community service by Barkingside Magistrates’ Court.

The court heard that she wanted her 11-year-old daughter to go to a school in Havering, as these were thought to have a better reputation than those in her own borough.

Ms Pacheco admitted forging a tenancy agreement for a home in Havering, using the name of a bogus estate agency. 

Council staff discovered the forgery when the property’s real owner received an unexpected school offer and contacted them to say they had never met nor heard of Ms Pacheco. The manager of the agency, who signed off her agreement, was found not to exist.

Havering’s deputy leader Damian White said: “Creating false documents, no matter what the reason, is fraud and ultimately takes away places from those that were entitled to them.”

Mark Smulian