Breaking Fraud Cases from Canadian Courts
At Canadian Fraud News, we report on decisions issued by Canadian Courts related to fraud, that are not reported in the mainstream media, and that contain legal issues the Canadian public and fraud recovery experts should be aware of. The following is one such story.
On September 20th federal court Judge Henry S. Brown released his decision regarding a case of immigration fraud. The court held that although a victim of serious predatory investment fraud, and a witness in the Crown’s case, Wen Li was guilty of remaining in Canada without status, and she was remanded back to People’s Republic of China under the Immigration Refugee and Protection Act (IRPA). This article tells her story.
The Immigrant Li as an Innocent Dupe
On October 23, 2013, Wen Li arrived in Canada as a temporary resident with a valid work permit and the expectation that it could lead to permanent residence status. Li began to work as an investor and entrepreneur.
Sometime thereafter, Li entered into a real estate investment deal not represented by any solicitor. Unfortunately she was dealing with fraudsters using various corporate identities such as the Panasian Global Inc (PGI).
Panasian Global Inc allegedly bought a number of properties for a total of $5,000,000 intending to sell each of the individual stores (units) in the vicinity of $400,000-$500,000 each. This would have netted PGI a profit of 300%.
The PGI scheme was made possible under the guise of a marketing plan advertised by the Ontario Provincial Nomination Program. It was stated that the purchaser of a unit would become a permanent residence within 6 months and obtain a work permit.
In 2012 Wen Li provided $220,000 of the $440,000 and filed an application to run the store under section 215 (a) of the IRPA. When she came to Canada, she ran a store under a numbered company which was incorporated by a solicitor whom she never met.
Li claims it wasn’t until 2015 that she become aware that she was a victim of real estate fraud.
Wen Li was alleged put under police protection as she was advised by police that she had been dealing with organized crime. Police and Canadian Border Safety provided her a letter to endorse her immigration application, as she was a key witness to their case.
The Fraud Victim Li Deported
Before her initial permit expired Li applied for extension was refused. Li then applied for restoration of her status which was dismissed on June 27, 2014. She also applied for a temporary resident visa, which was dismissed on June 27, 2016.
After the dismissal of her applications, Li filed for permanent residence status under the umbrella of humanitarian and compassionate grounds (H&T) by a letter dated August 20, 2015.
On January 10, 2017, Li’s request for H&C was refused.
The Court’s Decision
Li argued that the focus of the H&C application was not based on the fraud or its impact, but on her being in Canada without status.
The Court was not persuaded that Canadian immigration officials had made misapplied their discretion, stating that while Li is certainly a victim of fraud, she did not lead any real evidence as to why they could not deport her and why should could not apply to return from China as IRPA requires.
Li was was one of 32 victims of the PGI fraud scheme. The Crown did not step in to her assistance, and so it appears the Crown believed they could make out their fraud case without her.
For the full reasons for judgment, see Li v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2017 CarswellNat 4877, 2017 FC 841. It is not known as at the time of this press release whether Li has further appealed this decision.
Inquiries
For further information on this case, or any other fraud recovery inquiry, contact Canadian Fraud News Inc. at Devin@Canadianfraudnews.com.
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