A man has been jailed for 18 months after he paid someone to sit the health and safety tests required to obtain the Construction Skills Certification Scheme card and the Construction Plant Certification Scheme card.
Manjit Multani, an Indian national, is also facing the possibility of deportation for illegally working in the UK.
An investigation by the Construction Industry Training Board found he was using the cards to work on building sites across London and Milton Keynes.
Multani has also used a fake names in order to work illegally in the UK.
Mr Multani was arrested in February by Home Office Immigration Enforcement officers, but failed to answer his bail.
He was then arrested again on motoring offences when they discovered he was wanted by the police.
Mr Multani pleaded guilty to eight charges including misuse of identity documents and fraudulently obtaining leave to remain in the UK.
Ian Sidney, a fraud investigator at the CITB led the investigation into Multani’s cards and qualifications and his CPCS card was revoked in February.
Sidney said: “The risks these people pose when illegally working in the construction industry are huge, so it’s encouraging to see that those who do brought to justice.
“Fraud is incredibly damaging to the reputation of the industry and worse, it puts people’s lives in jeopardy.
“Building sites can be hazardous if workers do not have the relevant training and qualifications, so it is lucky one was injured.
“We simply will not tolerate any illegal activities and will continue to work with the police to prosecute fraudsters.”
Source: SHP Online