A Warwick woman today admitted she forged her own criminal record in order to secure a cleaning job, even though Magistrates’ Court heard she didn’t have a record.

Nelia Silva, 37, of Dunscombe Road, was given a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to two counts of forgery — she also forged a criminal record for a friend — and one count of submitting those forged documents.

Silva was attempting to get a second job with Just Cleaners, who clean for HSBC, prosecutor Cindy Clarke told the court.

As the bank’s cleaning staff operate unsupervised at night, criminal background checks are required for anyone applying for the position.

Raphael Simons, who was conducting the background checks, noticed that two of the documents did not appear to be genuine, which led to the discovery that Silva had forged them.

Silva’s lawyer, Saul Froomkin, said she was “stupid” and forged the documents either because she could not wait the two weeks it takes to receive a criminal background check, or could not afford the $100 fee that comes with requesting the document.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner gave Silva a conditional discharge with 12 months of probation.