Immigration consultants arrested, charged with immigration fraud in Canada

MONTRÉAL, Canada – The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced today that two people, acting as immigration consultants, were arrested by the CBSA’s Criminal Investigations Division and will f

MONTRÉAL, Canada – The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced today that two people, acting as immigration consultants, were arrested by the CBSA’s Criminal Investigations Division and will face charges of fraud and conspiracy as well as counselling, aiding or abetting others to make misrepresentations.


According to the CBSA’s investigation, Georges Massoud and Fatma Iscan helped several families pretend to have resided in Canada between 2007 and 2015, thus allowing them to fraudulently obtain and maintain their permanent resident status with the goal of obtaining Canadian citizenship and a Canadian passport, to which they were not entitled.

Georges Massoud and Fatma Iscan, as well as the consultant firm CANIMCO Inc., are facing 10 counts under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and Canada’s Criminal Code.

Quotes

The CBSA conducts investigations and prosecutes immigration offenders to the full extent of the law. Immigration fraud is a criminal offence. The discovery of this fraudulent scheme allowed us to prevent other people from fraudulently being given permanent residence or Canadian citizenship. The CBSA’s investigations help to protect the integrity of Canada’s immigration systems and prosecute offenders before the courts.

– Benoît Chiquette, CBSA Regional Director General, Quebec Region

Quick facts

• Anyone who violates immigration laws could face serious consequences, primarily a criminal conviction, incarceration, fines and periods of probation.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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