Vicar who carried out 250 fake wedding ceremonies jailed for four and a half years for his role in sham marriage ring

April 4th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

By
Claire Ellicott

PUBLISHED:

11:18 EST, 3 April 2012

|

UPDATED:

18:08 EST, 3 April 2012

Jailed: Reverend Brian Shipsides officiated at 250 sham marriages - charging £140 a time

Jailed: Reverend Brian Shipsides officiated at 250 sham marriages – charging £140 a time

A VICAR who helped carry out nearly 250 sham marriages, pocketing £30,000 in proceeds, was called ‘disgraceful’ and ‘greedy’ by a judge yesterday.

The Rev Brian Shipsides, 56, was jailed for four and a half years for arranging bogus ceremonies for African nationals to marry European citizens so they could stay in Britain.

The vicar, whose motivation was described as financial, travelled around the world on the money.

Most of the bogus couples, who were being married at a rate of seven a day at one point, had already been refused leave to remain in Britain.

Sentencing him, Judge Peter Grobel said: ‘Your important role in this conspiracy was a disgraceful abuse of your calling as an ordained minister of the Church.

‘Your criminal conduct appears to have been motivated as much by arrogance as by greed.’

The judge said Shipsides pocketed £30,264 in undeclared fees. He added: ‘There really is no mitigation in respect of this type of offending which undermines UK immigration law, threatens the benefit system and exploits the lives of many vulnerable and desperate people.’

David Walbank, prosecuting, said the sham marriages, at All Saints Church in Forest Gate, East London, were ‘meticulously planned’.

Nigerian fixer Amudalat Ladipo, 31, arranged for European citizens to fly to Britain and marry African nationals to give the latter enhanced rights to remain in the country.

Shipsides, who lives with his male partner in Dagenham, Essex, presided over almost all of the marriages. He charged £140 a time and, instead of handing the money to the diocese and the Parish Church Council, he pocketed it.

Rev Shipsides performing the sham wedding ceremony of his co-conspirator, Nigerian national Amdudalat Ladipo, to a Dutchman so she could remain in the UK

Rev Shipsides performing the sham wedding ceremony of his co-conspirator, Nigerian national Amdudalat Ladipo, to a Dutchman so she could remain in the UK. The Home Office has voided her marriage

The banns, the traditional public
announcement of an intention to marry, were not read and forged
residential documents and utility bills were used.

The conspiracy, which the prosecution
called a ‘massive and systematic immigration fraud’, was brought to a
halt in July 2010, when Ladipo was arrested after a tip-off from another
vicar.

There was no suspicion even then that Shipsides was involved. Indeed, police believed he would make a good witness.

Mr Walbank said: ‘It’s now clear this was a bit of play acting on his part.

‘Initially his ruse succeeded.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the police did not at first regard this Church
of England vicar as a suspect. On the contrary, they saw him as a
potentially important witness.’

However, the police soon realised Shipsides was involved.

Mr Walbank pointed to the frequency of
weddings, which increased 16-fold during the scam, compared to a
similar period. He added: ‘Shipsides knew the vast majority of the
marriages were a sham and that their purpose was to breach the
immigration laws of this country.’

All Saints Church in Forest Gate, where Brian Shipsides carried out sham weddings helping illegal immigrants to stay in the UK

James Lachkovic, mitigating, said the
vicar’s role in the scam was a ‘humanitarian gesture’ designed to help
Nigerians persecuted in their own country because they were Christian.

Shipsides, who is in the Guinness Book
of Records for officiating over the marriage of the world’s tallest
couple, had been parish priest at the church for 13 years.

The vicar, whose father was a policeman, had ‘dedicated his life to the service of others’, Mr Lachkovic added.

Shipsides had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate breaches of immigration law.

Ladipo claimed that she had acted
under duress from her husband – who she is believed to have entered
into a sham marriage with at the same church.

But the prosecution said she had been ‘actively involved in the conspiracy’ before she was married.

She was called a ‘marriage fixer’ by the judge and jailed for three years.

Andy Russell, who led the investigation for the UK Border Agency, said the scale of the scam was ‘staggering’.

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Before any of us start to cheer remember ” just two phoney brides or grooms who took part in the bogus marriages have been deported, eight have been jailed, while dozens have gained the right to stay in Britain”

– Peter North, Sutton, Surrey, 03/4/2012 18:48

good but not good enough unless combined with loss of all goods gained with his criminal wealth

– jtr , manchester, 03/4/2012 18:33

All those people in those 240 fake marriages should have all the documents which they then can get canceled, drivers liceneses, housing benefit, JSA, Passports, everything else as all these were obtained by fraud and should me made illegal. All those what obtained the right to stay in the UK should be revoked and all deported. Its about time the UK stopped pussing footing around.

– Steve, Norfolk England, 03/4/2012 18:29

Oh gosh what a hypocrite…. He should hang his head in shame

– Nicky Noo, London, 03/4/2012 18:16

Now it’s a free holiday on the tax payer ! More tea vicar?

– Get me to the church on time, The Boris Region, 03/4/2012 18:13

‘…while dozens have gained the right to stay in Britain.’ #### On what grounds exactly?

– Aberrant_Apostrophe, Reading, UK, 03/4/2012 18:11

are they taking the money off him or is it just another case of doing easy time and pocketing the loot when he comes out after 2 years

– robert, cornwall, 03/4/2012 18:05

The Church of England should be made to pay the cost of benefits claimed by these illegal immigrants and the cost of NHS services used by tthem. That should make the church more careful in future.

– lou, UK, 03/4/2012 18:01

Gosh that is such a lenient sentence its almost worth committing crime these days.

– Nick Smith, Bath, 03/4/2012 17:59

There appears an endless line of people willing to sell our country to the highest bidder: Politicians, vicars, police officers are only the tip of the iceberg, these people can no longer be considered to be in a position of trust.

– Ian, Not Scots, Welsh or Irish, 03/4/2012 17:42

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