The biggest immigration fraud in canada's history

Photo: Abdallahh

A man from Vancouver has been jailed after masterminding the biggest immigration fraud in Canada's history.

Xun Wang crafted the scheme to take millions of dollars from Chinese nationals, to whom he promised citizenship or permanent residency in Canada.

Wang, who called himself an "immigration consultant", forged passports and identities for up to 1,200 people. His process involved creating fake passport stamps, property lease agreements and even fake letters from schools and lawyers. He also provided false jobs with bogus pay slips in a complicated arrangement that conspired to make his clients essentially pay themselves.

These fake lives were created to help Chinese nationals fulfil the minimum number of years that they were required to reside in the country without actually having to stay there.

"In order to confirm an applicant’s time in Canada, immigration authorities typically examined an applicant’s passport. In this regard, they were looking for evidence that the applicant had been outside their country of origin for a period of time," explains a statement from the court. "What transpired is that, through a sophisticated and systematic scheme, Wang and his staff masterminded the altering of client passports thus creating the false impression that the clients had been in Canada."

Over eight years, Wung is thought to have earned aroun $10 million from the fraud.

"How could Wang have done this so easily for 1,000 people? It’s ridiculous,” Chen, a real estate consultant helping Chinese investors to buy properties in North America, told the Vancouver Sun.

Richmond provincial court has sentenced Wang to seven years in prison, with a fine of $188,000 for false tax rebate claims and a $730,000 charge for tax evasion.