THE Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Criminal Investigations Section announced Tuesday that charges were laid on February 4 against seven individuals allegedly involved in an unlicensed immigration consulting business.
Wen Liang “Eric” Li, Jin “Fanny” Ma, Wen “Vivian” Jiang, Ming Kun “Makkie” Wu, Xiao Feng “Heki” He, Li “Ely” Li, and Zheng Wen “Vicky” Ye have been charged under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and the Criminal Code. Charges include misrepresentation, counselling misrepresentation, forgery and fraud.
These charges are the result of a lengthy investigation into the activities of New Can Consultants Ltd. and Wellong International Investments Ltd.—two unlicensed immigration consulting businesses offering services in Metro Vancouver.
The CBSA alleges that the employer, Xun Wang, and his employees advised and assisted clients in providing misleading and untruthful statements on permanent resident card renewal and citizenship applications.
Wang was charged with 13 counts under the IRPA, the Criminal Code and the Income Tax Act in October 2014 and his next court appearance is scheduled on March 24.
The CBSA is responsible for investigating cases of alleged contravention of the IRPA, including immigration consultant fraud, residency fraud, misrepresentation, marriages of convenience and employing foreign nationals without authorization.
“The CBSA takes its role of investigating the possibility of fraud against the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act seriously. Once charges are laid in such instances, the matter goes before the courts to determine guilt or innocence,” said Doug Mossey, Chief, Criminal Investigations Section, CBSA.