The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says it dismantled a fraudulent Saskatchewan immigration scheme.
The investigation was launched in September 2018 after identifying a fake job offer letter presented at a port of entry, according to a press release.
CBSA alleges that Gurpreet Singh, 34, impersonated registered charities by falsifying employment letters and then sold them to people seeking to gain entry to or remain in Canada.
In total, investigators said they uncovered 34 immigration applications that were linked to fraudulent letters. These offences were allegedly committed between June 1, 2016, and Nov. 2, 2018, according to the agency.
CBSA said that it laid four charges against Singh for his alleged involvement in exploiting work permit exemptions afforded to certain temporary foreign workers.
He is facing charges of misrepresenting material facts in an immigration matter, counselling others to misrepresent material facts in an immigration matter, committing forgery by knowingly making false employment letters that were used to support immigration applications and dealing forged employment letters as if they were genuine.
Singh is scheduled to make his first Saskatoon provincial court appearance on Jan. 23.
“Individuals who make a business out of circumventing immigration laws pose a serious threat to program integrity,” Brad Wozny, CBSA’s acting regional director general for the Prairie region, said in a press release.
“By investigating and prosecuting alleged offenders, the CBSA works to preserve the fairness of Canada’s immigration system.”
CBSA said this is the third time in Saskatchewan that it has laid charges in an immigration fraud-related case since 2016.