Haitian father admits to trying to get Bahamian passports for his children
A Haitian man has admitted getting Bahamian passports for his children, who are not Bahamian citizens.
On Tuesday, Aland Bitar, 48, of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit pretence fraud and attempted fraud when he appeared before Magistrate Kendra Kelly.
An employee at the Passport Office called the police on March 2 after Bitar tried to renew passports for his children, ages 11 and 17.
Bitar presented two applications and a letter from police stating that the passports had been reported lost.
The prosecutor, Sergeant 260 Vernon Pyfrom, told the court that authorities had deactivated the original passports because they had been obtained with fraudulent birth certificates.
On a spousal permit, Bitar, who is in the country, told investigators that his children were born in Haiti, Pyfrom said.
Kelly convicted Bitar of the offences after he accepted the summary presented by the prosecutor.
Defence lawyer Nathan Smith said that Bitar broke the law out of ignorance, although he conceded that ignorance was not an excuse.
According to Smith, Bitar had received the fraudulent documents from his Bahamian wife.
He said that Bitar was "eager to make amends for his wrongdoing and insult to the country".
Smith said that Bitard worked as a carpenter and had "been on great assistance to the people of Abaco".
Magistrate Kelly has deferred sentencing to December 13. She postponed the case's penalty phase because she wanted the assistance of an immigration officer.
Bitar remains on $6,000 bail in the interim.
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