An Australian court has rejected an Indian migrant’s claim that she was duped into using a fake nursing certificate, convicting her and describing her defense as a series of “outright lies”.33-year-old Harpreet Kaur has been found guilty in Adelaide of falsely representing herself as a registered health practitioner, Australia Today reports. The case relates to her using a false certificate to secure nursing work in Australia.According to Christie’s Beach District Court, Kaur trained as a nurse in India and failed her Australian certification exams three times before obtaining the document. She first admitted the charges against her in 2024, but later retracted her confession, saying she did not know the certificate was fake and had purchased it from an online “mentor” who charged her $10,000 for training and documentation.
In her defence, Kaur told the court she believed the testimony was genuine and denied trying to mislead her employer or authorities. However, Judge Luke Davis rejected her account, finding that she had knowingly used a forged document and lied under oath during the trial.He said there was a lot of evidence against her and rejected her claims that she had been defrauded. “While it is unfortunate and notorious for people of all ages to fall victim to online scams, there is a significant amount of evidence pointing to guilt,” he said.
The judge criticized her evidence: “I do not accept Kaur as a truthful witness… She was evasive and unconvincing, and gave ridiculous answers which I found inconceivable.” [and] Completely ridiculous.He also said that the certificate itself was clearly a forgery: “I find that the document itself was clearly false, a forgery, a manipulation, and it was easy to see it as such… one cannot help but notice.”Judge Davis also ruled that Kaur was “in cahoots” with an “elusive and mysterious character” and was fully aware that her actions were unlawful.Kaur now faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine of up to $60,000. She is scheduled to return to court next month for sentencing.
