Man who gained employment at law firms using forged certificates has been sentenced

A 43-year-old man who gained employment at two law firms in the county after he used a false university degree certificate and used a false passport has been sentenced.

Gloucester Crown Court was told how Aditya Rai also gained a false UK driving licence under a different name, Ali Ryan, and used a photo of himself and false date of birth. He then applied for two bank accounts under the same false name.

Rai then used forged academic certificates which showed he had a law degree, and he created a false Curriculum Vitae (CV) which he used to obtain employment at three different firms. Two of these were law firms in Gloucestershire, the other was as an in-house legal assistant at a construction company in Bristol.

Following an investigation by Gloucestershire Police's Economic Crime Team, he was charged with three counts of fraud by false representation, possessing/controlling false identity documents with intent, namely a false UK driving licence, and using a false instrument with intent it be accepted as genuine, namely a falsified CV and forged academic certificates.

He admitted these offences on 11 March this year (2025), along with a forgery charge investigated by North Wales Police relating to a false Republic of Ireland driving licence. Another two fraud offences were taken into consideration. 

In total Rai was paid around £10,000 for short terms of employment. The roles were as legal assistants or paralegals. He had resigned from one firm and had his employment terminated by another due to failing reference checks.

The court was told he had tried to obtain employment when he was not entitled to do so, and hid the fact he had previous convictions by using a false identity.

When his home was searched in June 2022 his laptop was seized and found to have the fake documents on it. A driving licence in the false name of Ali Ryan was also discovered.

Rai had been on remand since 11 February this year (2025) after he was arrested at a port with a false Irish driving licence under the name of Ali Riyan. The court heard he was identified by his tattoos and he was arrested for failing to attend court in relation to the fraud charges.

The court was told how the fraudulent behaviour was persistent and prolonged, with law firms taking on someone who, without their knowledge, was not qualified to work there.

In mitigation, Rai's defence barrister said how the offences were committed during the Covid lockdown when he had no financial support and that there was little stability for him to earn money in a legitimate sense.

His Honour Judge Ian Lawrie KC said that Rai had "been a busy boy in terms of dishonesty" and "divulged in a rather elaborate sequence of steps to defraud people of his identity".

Rai's defence barrister said that once he went into that spiral, it was difficult for him to get out, and that he was someone who has a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

During a sentence hearing on 30 April Judge Lawrie sentenced him to 20 months, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Lawrie said: "You have brought additional burdens on your family, you're thoroughly responsible.

"You are a dishonest person and you took three jobs with legal firms completely misleading them about what you were doing."

Following the sentencing, a spokesperson from the Economic Crime Team said: "Rai developed a complex web of false identities, documents, and financial accounts to commit fraud against numerous victims over a sustained period.

"He offended against government agencies, universities, private companies, and individuals. A long and painstaking police investigation was required to understand and uncover the extent of his offending.

"Rai is a professional and experienced fraudster with a track record going back more than a decade. He made significant efforts to evade justice and continue offending, and it took considerable law-enforcement resources to bring him to justice.

"I would like to thank all the witnesses and partner agencies who have contributed to the success of this case."