GRAND BAHAMA, BAHAMAS — A 41-year-old mother of eight was formally charged with two counts of entering into a fraudulent marriage on Friday, according to a statement by the Department of Immigration.
The department’s Prosecution Unit, Grand Bahama District, brought Nadacate Outten and two co-accused foreign nationals, Jamaican Oral Anthony White, and Haitian Moseles Monneus, before Magistrate Debbye Ferguson.
Outten pleaded guilty to her charges with an explanation: she said she was “down on her luck” and needed the funds offered in exchange for both marriages and subsequent grant of legal status to care for her children.
Taking into consideration that she is the primary caregiver for her children with no assistance, the prosecution requested no custodial sentence.
The magistrate ruled that Outten pay a fine of $1,500 for each count, or in default of payment serve one year for each count at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, to run consecutively.
Outten was released and has until June 1 to pay the fine.
White and Monneus both said they did not know about Outten’s marriage to the other man.
However, both pleaded guilty to the charge of entering into a fraudulent marriage as “the arrangement was made to ensure they received legal status to only live and work in The Bahamas”.
The men were subsequently ordered to be deported.
