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http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/Edmonton+immigration+consultant+charged+with+fraud/4888603/story.html
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Edmonton+immigration+consultant+charged+with+fraud/4888453/story.html?cid=megadrop_story
Edmonton immigration consultant charged with fraud
EDMONTON - An immigration consultant in Edmonton has been charged with fraud after allegedly forging a dead man’s name to bring in temporary foreign workers.
But consultant Paul Gestano McKenney argues he simply photocopied a signature onto a new document.
“We transferred the signature. We did not forge it by hand,” said McKenney, reached Friday at his west-end consulting office, Global Proskills Consulting.
McKenney has been charged with 11 counts under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, including operating as an immigration consultant without being registered.
He is also charged with making false documents under the Criminal Code. Officials with the Canadian Border Services Agency announced the charges Friday.
Gil McGowan, head of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said the rarity of charges like this shows the industry is unregulated.
The federation hired a lawyer to work with temporary foreign workers in 2007. They found many workers being taken advantage off, working without the pay rate promised and often charged thousands of dollars for help finding a job.
“It’s great to hear that someone is finally being prosecuted. That’s long overdue,” he said. “Only a tiny fraction of the people who are working as brokers are actually registered with the association. For the most part, it is an almost unregulated industry.”
McKenney is scheduled to appear July 19 in Edmonton Provincial Court.
He registered with the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants when he first started working in 1994, but soon let his registration lapse because it involved too much paperwork. “I know it’s important, but there are so many agencies that are not registered,” McKenney said.
The maximum punishment for operating without being registered is two years in jail or a $50,000 fine. Canada Border Services Agency started investigating McKenney in 2009, when it received a complaint from someone who said a dead person’s signature had been forged.
McKenney said that relates to workers he was trying to bring in for a Lacombe-based recruiting company. Several workers already had their passports and work permits lined up, but one more document was needed from the employer in Lacombe, he said.
When McKenney couldn’t reach the potential employer, he photocopied the signature from previous forms, he said, and later found out that man had died from a heart attack.
A second incident relates to an Edmonton man who wanted to recruit accountants, said McKenney. This time five workers were ready to come to Canada when the Consulate of the Philippines wouldn’t sign a form, he said. Again, McKenny said he photocopied a signature get the papers through.
That was discovered when one of the workers was questioned in Vancouver. Border guards phoned the potential employer and he denied asking for them. “He backed out at the last minute,” McKenney said. “(The worker) really had all the documents to come to Canada.”
The woman has since returned to the Philippines.
Officials with Border Services searched McKenney’s office, seizing documents and electronic data, on June 1, 2010.
McKenney said many people borrow money to get their documents ready to come to Canada. Ending the process at the last minute because one document is missing would cause hardship, he argued.
“We’re also scared it would ruin our credibility with these people.” Canada Border Services spokeswoman Lisa White said a toll-free line has been set up for the public to report suspected immigration fraud. The number is 1-888-502-9060, and can also be used by temporary foreign workers with complaints.
Labour complaints about how workers are treated should be made to a provincial labour board.
White said she couldn’t give more details on the charges facing McKenney from the agency’s perspective because “it could jeopardize our case before the courts. These cases are very difficult to prosecute.”
Three federal departments are involved in the temporary foreign worker program and witnesses are often overseas.
“We require a lot of evidence. These cases are very complex and they do take time,” White said.
http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/Edmonton+immigration+consultant+charged+with+fraud/4888603/story.html
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Edmonton+immigration+consultant+charged+with+fraud/4888453/story.html?cid=megadrop_story
Edmonton immigration consultant charged with fraud
EDMONTON - An immigration consultant in Edmonton has been charged with fraud after allegedly forging a dead man’s name to bring in temporary foreign workers.
But consultant Paul Gestano McKenney argues he simply photocopied a signature onto a new document.
“We transferred the signature. We did not forge it by hand,” said McKenney, reached Friday at his west-end consulting office, Global Proskills Consulting.
McKenney has been charged with 11 counts under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, including operating as an immigration consultant without being registered.
He is also charged with making false documents under the Criminal Code. Officials with the Canadian Border Services Agency announced the charges Friday.
Gil McGowan, head of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said the rarity of charges like this shows the industry is unregulated.
The federation hired a lawyer to work with temporary foreign workers in 2007. They found many workers being taken advantage off, working without the pay rate promised and often charged thousands of dollars for help finding a job.
“It’s great to hear that someone is finally being prosecuted. That’s long overdue,” he said. “Only a tiny fraction of the people who are working as brokers are actually registered with the association. For the most part, it is an almost unregulated industry.”
McKenney is scheduled to appear July 19 in Edmonton Provincial Court.
He registered with the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants when he first started working in 1994, but soon let his registration lapse because it involved too much paperwork. “I know it’s important, but there are so many agencies that are not registered,” McKenney said.
The maximum punishment for operating without being registered is two years in jail or a $50,000 fine. Canada Border Services Agency started investigating McKenney in 2009, when it received a complaint from someone who said a dead person’s signature had been forged.
McKenney said that relates to workers he was trying to bring in for a Lacombe-based recruiting company. Several workers already had their passports and work permits lined up, but one more document was needed from the employer in Lacombe, he said.
When McKenney couldn’t reach the potential employer, he photocopied the signature from previous forms, he said, and later found out that man had died from a heart attack.
A second incident relates to an Edmonton man who wanted to recruit accountants, said McKenney. This time five workers were ready to come to Canada when the Consulate of the Philippines wouldn’t sign a form, he said. Again, McKenny said he photocopied a signature get the papers through.
That was discovered when one of the workers was questioned in Vancouver. Border guards phoned the potential employer and he denied asking for them. “He backed out at the last minute,” McKenney said. “(The worker) really had all the documents to come to Canada.”
The woman has since returned to the Philippines.
Officials with Border Services searched McKenney’s office, seizing documents and electronic data, on June 1, 2010.
McKenney said many people borrow money to get their documents ready to come to Canada. Ending the process at the last minute because one document is missing would cause hardship, he argued.
“We’re also scared it would ruin our credibility with these people.” Canada Border Services spokeswoman Lisa White said a toll-free line has been set up for the public to report suspected immigration fraud. The number is 1-888-502-9060, and can also be used by temporary foreign workers with complaints.
Labour complaints about how workers are treated should be made to a provincial labour board.
White said she couldn’t give more details on the charges facing McKenney from the agency’s perspective because “it could jeopardize our case before the courts. These cases are very difficult to prosecute.”
Three federal departments are involved in the temporary foreign worker program and witnesses are often overseas.
“We require a lot of evidence. These cases are very complex and they do take time,” White said.