MONTREAL – A 62-year-old Île Bizard man is facing several dozen charges in connection with an immigration scheme that police say bilked Canadian taxpayers out of half a million dollars.
According to a release issued Friday by the RCMP’s Immigration, Passport and Commercial Crime Sections, Ahmad El-Akhal used fraudulent means to obtain Canadian passports and citizenship documents for several hundred people who were actually living in the Middle East. In addition, El-Akhal is alleged to have filed false income tax returns for some of the foreign nationals, allowing him to collect tax returns and benefits in their names totalling $500,000 from the Canada Revenue Agency.
Some of the charges against El-Akhal include aiding or abetting the making of a false representation, fraud, concealing material circumstances, counselling misrepresentation, forgery, uttering a forged document, conspiracy and possession of proceeds obtained by crime.
El-Akhal’s wife, Tahani Mohamad Hassan El-Akhal, 53, was charged jointly with her husband for possession of proceeds obtained by crime in the amount of $155,000.
A third party, identified as Hussam Hassan Ali Saif, 44, of Mississauga, Ont., is facing four charges in connection with the alleged scheme, including aiding or abetting the making of a false representation, fraud, concealing material circumstances and one conspiracy charge under the Criminal Code.
The three appeared for a bail hearing at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, Ont., on Friday.
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