Student who became £300 driving theory 'exam cheat for hire' is jailed

Engineering student, 27, who became £300 ‘exam cheat for hire’ and illegally sat driving tests for learner drivers is jailed for 24 weeks

• Olivier Yolo agreed to fraudulently take theory tests for cash at DVSA centres 

A student who set himself up as a £300-a-time ‘exam cheat for hire’ so he could illegally sit driving theory tests on behalf of struggling learner drivers has been jailed for 24 weeks. 

Father-to-be Olivier Yolo, 27, agreed to fraudulently take the tests for cash at a series of DVSA centres across the North of England when the real applicants feared they would fail.

The engineering undergraduate, who also worked as a delivery driver, masqueraded as a string of provisionally licenced motorists in six separate theory tests after being put in touch with them through his local barber. 

He was arrested when staff became suspicious of him as he tried to take a seventh test at the Stockport centre last August. It emerged Yolo, who had passed his driving test 12 months before the scam, had tried to sit theory tests at Preston, Bolton, Scarborough, Sheffield and Chester. 

He said he had been struggling financially and the ruse seemed like ‘easy money.’

Olivier Yolo leaving Chester Magistrates Court – he pleaded guilty to seven charges of fraud

It is thought he successfully passed three of the exams but was turned away at the others.

At Chester Crown Court, Yolo, of Monsall, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to seven charges of fraud by false representation and was jailed.

The five learner drivers he posed as in the theory tests were named as Emmanuel Kuragu, Freddie Kangi, Cristian Sartorato, Sawuna Mala and Phillipe Kasende. None of them were before the court.

Miss Zarreem Alan-Cheetham, prosecuting, said: ‘On the 18 September of last year information was received from the Reed Partnership Theory Test Centre in Stockport that an impersonation had taken place for a theory test in the name of Phillipe Kasende.

‘The defendant was arrested by Greater Manchester Police at the test centre after completing the driving theory test and the matter was also reported to fraud investigators at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. 

‘He was asked about his involvement in the offences at Stockport and six other theory test centres in the north of England.

‘During the interview, he admitted his involvement in each of the offences. He also said that he had done more than that, that the DVSA were not actually aware of. 

‘The defendant said he received the drivers’ licences from a barbershop in his local community and that he was paid about £300 for each test. Greater Manchester Police then handed the investigation over to the DVSA.

‘The prosecution submits that this falls into a high culpability due to it being a fraud activity over a sustained period of time and the sophisticated nature of the offences and the significant planning.’

 Yolo, 27, agreed to fraudulently take theory tests for cash at a series of DVSA centres

Yolo was jailed for 24 weeks at Chester Crown Court (pictured in a stock image)

Miss Alam-Cheetham read out the details of each of the attempted impersonations. 

They related to attempts to take the test at centres in November and December of 2021 at Chester, Sheffield and Preston and in January, February, July and August of last year, twice at Bolton, and also at Scarborough and Stockport.

In mitigation Yolo’s solicitor advocate Adam Antoszkiw said: ‘This is somebody who has been terribly candid throughout. He has made very full and frank admissions, perhaps admitting to even more than what appears on the charge sheet and is someone who is genuinely remorseful.

‘At the time he was struggling with the cost of living, struggling with his personal finances. He readily accepts that he received £300 for all those theory tests but it has not brought about a luxurious lifestyle. He has given up his rented accommodation and has moved back in with his parents which has reduced that strain on his finances.

‘He has set up a fledgling business but there are modest returns at the moment. Jail would be a significant impact on others, namely his partner and his unborn child whose birth is due in July. 

‘A suspended sentence would allow him to welcome a baby into the world with his partner and let him carry on with his fledgling business.’

Sentencing the judge Mr Recorder Peter Horgan said: ‘These offences did not take place on the spur of the moment but over the course of nine months at six locations across the country.

‘The seriousness of your offending is the impact on the public confidence in the system. If those drivers you impersonated went on to pass the practical stage of the driving test, they would be given a licence to drive on the road creating an obvious danger to the public and the public deserves to have confidence in the system we have in place.’

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