Albanian man who posed as a dad in immigration con jailed

A man who posed as the father of Albanian infants in an immigration conspiracy has been jailed.

Between September 2022 and August 2024, Gerald Cera, 28, originally from Albania but with United Kingdom citizenship, was named as the father of eight children as part of a plot to help them obtain UK passports.

He was sentenced to six years in prison at St Albans Crown Court after being found guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration to the United Kingdom.

The Home Office has revoked his UK citizenship, along with the passports of the children whose applications he supported.

Cera, who lived on Circular Road in Tottenham, London, was arrested at Luton Airport on 16 February 2025.

He was also convicted of failing to comply with a notice after refusing to provide police with his phone and laptop passcodes on arrest.

An investigation uncovered that he was part of a conspiracy to obtain UK passports for babies.

He had provided his own UK passport and naturalisation certificate to support his application to be listed as the father of eight Albanian infants.

Cera was linked to another man who admitted to fraudulently claiming to be the father of 13 Albanian children on other UK passport applications earlier this month.

CPS prosecutors said they had to highlight inconsistencies with the defendant’s story to the jury, as they could only secure a DNA sample for one of the babies to prove he was not the father.

Roma Karampatsi, senior crown prosecutor for CPS Thames and Chiltern, said: “Throughout the investigation and trial process, Cera’s account has been riddled with inconsistencies.

“By fraudulently seeking UK citizenship for those with no right to it, Cera undermined our immigration system and those who seek to come by legal and legitimate means.

MP Alex Norris, minister for border security and asylum, added: “We will not stand by while criminal gangs abuse our immigration system by exploiting children to make quick cash.”