By DESIREE JACKSON
A Nigerian fledgling actress, businesswoman and student managed to escape additional legal punishment by being released from home confinement on Tuesday by a Brooklyn federal judge after having pleaded guilty to falsifying information on her U.S. visa application.
Colette Mgbe,26, was sentenced by Judge Kiyo Matsumoto to time served after spending four months under home confinement in her aunt’s home. Mgbe who was charged with fraud for lying about her employment status and the reason for her presence in the U.S. both on her application and visa interview was arraigned on August 27.
She acknowledged the severity of her crime.
Mgbe sat before Matsumoto sobbing and begging for the mercy of the court.
The aunt, Emmanuella Hewu, also stood before the judge to express her niece’s remorse. “ My niece is willing and able to cooperate with the government to fish out the real culprit and has shown remorse” she said.
At the defense’s request the judge granted Mgbe’s plea for voluntary deportation allowing her to return to her fiancee and college career. According to immigration authorities the status of her deportation was expodited earlier in the week.
Mgbe, of Cross River State, attends the University of Calabar where she is in her final year studying banking and finance.
Her budding acing career is managed by the African Film Consortium and sources said she would soon appear in a Nigerian feature film titled ‘Dirty South’. She is also a local show business event planner.
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