Justice officials are seeking a sentence of two years house arrest and a $100,000 fine for a Winnipeg man who provided what border officials described as an illegal “one-stop-shop immigration service.”
Hae Suk Yoon, 68, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of providing paid immigration consulting services without a licence.
Yoon was warned years before his arrest that he needed to be a registered immigration consultant in order to charge a fee for his services, but “persisted until he was caught red-handed by the government,” Crown attorney Michael Foote told Judge Alain Huberdeau.
A lengthy investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency revealed Yoon, over the course of six years, had provided immigration services to over 380 foreign nationals, primarily from Korea, and 57 businesses, earning a total of $347,000.
“Immigrants are among the most vulnerable people in Canada,” Foote said. “They have to know an immigration consultant is going to be trustworthy, licensed, and subject to regulation in Canada. That is the least they can expect.”
Court heard Yoon first came to the attention of the CBSA in April 2009 after Yoon accompanied three Korean nationals to the Emerson border crossing to seek work permits.
Read the full story over at the CBC.
