A Winnipeg immigration consultant has been sentenced to two years house arrest and fined $50,000 after admitting to fabricating jobs for clients at a place of worship that didn’t exist.
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An investigation found Singh had purchased a Pine Ridge area residential property in December 2020 and listed it as a gurudwara, a Sikh place of worship.
After the work permits of the three foreign nationals were refused, the Dukh Niwaren Sewa Society opened three volunteer positions for “religious work” at the gurudwara, Sinclair said. Sometime later, the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada agency approved visitor permits for seven additional paid positions at the gurudwara.
Border service investigators executed a search warrant at the Pine Ridge property and found it was being used as a residential rental property, not a place of worship. Investigators interviewed a female resident, “who confirmed there was no religious work taking place whatsoever,” Sinclair said.
Investigators executed search warrants at Singh’s home and business office and seized altered or fabricated bank statements that had been provided to the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program in support of Singh’s clients’ immigration applications.
Investigators interviewed several clients who said Singh provided them with pay stubs for jobs that never existed and letters detailing fabricated work experience.
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Defence lawyer Deep Singh Kahlon said his client had a tumultuous upbringing marked by domestic violence and forced child labour. He said the father of two is the sole breadwinner for his family and also supports family members in India.
“I think the lure of making some money clouded his judgment and the seriousness of what his actions were,” Kahlon said.
The maximum sentence for Singh’s crime is five years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine. Crown and defence lawyers jointly recommended Singh be allowed to serve a conditional sentence in the community, arguing it would allow him to continue working and supporting his family.
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