College principal sentenced over immigration scam

College principal sentenced over immigration scam
(UKPA) – 1 day ago


A college principal, from Middlesex, once feted as education's "wonder woman" is due to be sentenced for providing immigration services when not qualified to do so.

Roselle Antoine, who was honoured with an MBE for her services to education, lured overseas students into paying thousands of pounds in fees for fake courses.

The 55-year-old promised visas to overseas students if they enrolled at TCS Tutorial College in north-west London. But the courses were fake, the so-called qualifications were not worth the paper they were written on, and the students wasted years of study, leaving some more than £2,500 out of pocket, London's Southwark Crown Court was told.

Antoine was honoured with an MBE for her services to education and not all of the students at the college were on fake courses, the jury was told. But prosecutor Ben Lloyd said that did not excuse the occasions when the line was crossed and the law broken.

Susan Hall, Harrow Council's portfolio holder for the environment and community safety, said Antoine "posed as an educational saviour of the disadvantaged, but in reality was operating a cynical racket". She said: "Antoine scattered worthless NVQ certificates around like confetti. The only thing that many students at this college learned was the reality of fraud. Some spent years in fruitless study and were thousands of pounds down at the end of the experience."

She added that Harrow Council has already asked Ofsted to investigate this college "as a matter of urgency".

One of Antoine's victims, Auvalyn Howell, from north-west London, studied with TCS Tutorial College for four years but left without any valid qualifications. "I can't believe I have been made such a fool of," she said.

Miss Howell, who is originally from Jamaica, said she had initially thought Antoine was one of the nicest people she had ever known. "I thought she was trustworthy. I had no reason whatsoever to doubt her," she said.

Miss Howell, who is now studying for a degree in health and well-being, said Antoine had cost her more than £5,000.

Antoine, of Shelley Close, Greenford, was found guilty of eight counts of providing immigration services when not qualified to do so, and four counts of knowingly making a false statement. But she was cleared of eight counts of providing immigration advice when not qualified to do so and five counts of recklessly making a false statement, plus one of knowingly making a false statement.

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