Former Brighton and Hove council planning officer faces jail for faking qualifications

A former Brighton and Hove City Council planning officer faces jail for faking her qualifications and pretending to be a barrister.

Monika Juneja, 36, joined the council in March 2009, the Central Criminal Court – also known as the Old Bailey – was told.

Juneja, who became deputy leader of Conservative-controlled Guildford Borough Council, admitted three counts of forgery, one count of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception and one of pretending to be a barrister.

She denied three counts of fraud. Judge Gerald Gordon ordered the fraud charges to lie on file.

Kate Wilkinson, prosecuting, said that Juneja had lied repeatedly about her degree from Greenwich University and the outcome of her studies at the BPP law school.

She graduated with a third class degree in sociology but forged a letter from the university saying that she had a 2:1.

At BPP she declared “not competent in law” but forged a document so that it read “very competent in law”.

After leaving Brighton and Hove she worked as a barrister in Buckingham and a lawyer for the London Borough of Enfield.

But she wouldn’t have got any of the jobs had the truth been known – and she had benefited from a higher earning potential, the court was told.

She was caught out by residents who investigated her after she put forward unpopular housing proposals for the green belt in the draft local plan.

Howard Godfrey, defending, said that Juneja was a woman of good character who had been the victim of a witch hunt.

He said that she had behaved improperly and committed criminal offences but had provided years of public service.

Juneja, of Doverfield Road, Guildford, had deceived the law school, employers and Conservative Party officials over a 14-year period.

She was arrested in May last year. Judge Gordon asked for reports about Juneja and said that he would sentence her on Tuesday 16 June.