Chorley nail bar used in wedding scam (From Chorley Citizen)
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Chorley nail bar used in wedding scam
8:00am Thursday 7th March 2013 in News
Trang Thi Thuy Luu has vanished
A woman recruited people to take part in sham marriages at nail salons she owned, including one in Chorley.
A judge called for more information about sham marriages before he sentences five people for taking part in fake weddings to Vietnamese partners.
Preston Crown Court heard Amanda Nolan, 28, of Windsor Road, Blackburn, Jason Procter, 40, of Princes Street, Blackburn, Kevin Donnelly, 34, of Thwaites Road, Oswaldtwistle, Denny Wallace, 22, of Preston New Road, Blackburn, and Gemma Nelson, 28, of Whalley New Road, Blackburn, were all convicted of committing an act of deception to facilitate non-EU nationals to remain, or enter, the UK.
The prosecution said Nolan, Procter and Donnelly had all taken part in sham marriages for cash after being recruited by Trang Thi Thuy Luu, 24, at the Miss Nails salons in Chorley, Blackburn, and Preston, she owned.
None of the five defendants are said to have been instrumental in organising the sham marriages that took place between October 2008 and 2010.
The court heard Wallace and Nelson attended Blackburn Register Office as witnesses.
Before passing sentence, Judge Michael Byrne asked prosecutors to paint him a picture of the extent of the issue.
He said: “It may be nothing more than just these individual cases, but it would help to know if these individuals have added to a much bigger problem.”
Prosecutors said the sham marriages were discovered after Nolan married organiser Luu’s partner Tuan Hoang Luu for £4,000. The wedding at Blackburn Register Office was followed by a reception at Darwen’s Whitehall Country Club. Nolan was given away to police by an anonymous tip-off, the court heard.
Prosecutors said she had enjoyed a trip to Mexico with a different man just days after her marriage.
Both Donnelly and Procter received around £2,000 for their weddings, while Nelson was promised lessons in creating nails,and Wallace was also promised cash.
After police identified the link with Luu, she was arrested and released on bail.
She has since ‘vanished without trace’, along with her flat mate Dat Van Vu.
Both are wanted for document offences in relation to the marriages.
