Masterton woman in fake passport scam | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

A Masterton woman has been convicted for her part in endorsing a fake  photo that helped an acquaintance travel to Australia using a  bogus passport.

Shona Wikitoria Namana, 28, pleaded guilty at the Masterton District Court on Monday to a charge of false representation in procuring a New Zealand travel document.

The conviction stems from a passport application made to the Department of Internal Affairs in March 2006 by a male friend, who asked her to endorse a photo of him
as a true likeness.

She also endorsed a photo of another man as being a photo of the first applicant. The passport was then issued to the second man using his photo and the first man's name
 _  he then travelled to Australia, where he is now serving a prison sentence.

Police said they would  look at prosecuting him when he returned to New Zealand  _ the other man involved was unlikely to be charged due to lack of evidence.

Namana  told police she had signed the statutory declarationwithout looking at the photo and  had been ``reckless in doing so''.

Judge Stephen Harrop convicted Namana and ordered her to appear for sentencing in late October.