Man imprisoned by Northampton judge after trying to use false Romanian ID to remain in the UK

A Northampton man has been imprisoned after attempting to use a false Romanian identity card to remain in the UK.

Laurentiv Pintile, aged 53, of Howards Way, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Friday, August 26 charged with possessing a false identity document with the intention of using it to establish personal information.

The court heard that Pintile, who is from Romania, has been living in the UK for some years now and produced the documents in a bid to stay in the country.

Quiana Fitzpatrick, prosecuting, said: “He previously had a valid ID card that expired in 2015. The Romanian ID card he used is dated July 17 2021 - six years after the last one expired.”

The court heard that Pintile made an online application to the EU Settlement Scheme using a Romanian national ID card but it could not be authenticated online so documentation was requested from him.

Pintile sent off a Romanian ID card in September last year and it was received by the Home Office in February this year, where it was determined to be a counterfeit. The defendant was subsequently arrested in May.

Ms Fitzpatrick told the court that Pintile stated he made no application to the Home Office - only the Romanian Embassy. He gave a no comment interview to police, the court heard.

Pintile is of previous good character in the UK but he has three convictions in Romania of counterfeiting money in 1997, fraud in 2006 and driving an unregistered vehicle in 2014.

The court heard that the Home Office retained the counterfeit Romanian ID.

Liam Muir, defending, made no comment.

Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane, sentencing, said: “You accept that you believed the documentation to be false by your guilty plea.

“This was deliberate use of false ID documentation. Harm was relatively limited as you are a genuine Romanian national.”

Pintile was sentenced to six months imprisonment and then 12 months post-sentence supervision by probation.

A deprivation order was additionally made for the false documentation.