Canadian authorities have apprehended Brijesh Mishra, an Indian education agent accused of being involved in a fraudulent scheme related to counterfeit Canadian college admission letters.
Mishra was arrested upon his attempt to enter Canada and was deemed inadmissible by border agents. Subsequently, he was taken into custody. The Canada Border Services Agency has charged him with offering immigration advice without a license and advising individuals to misrepresent or withhold information from authorities, as reported by the Toronto Star.
According to Canadian regulations, only licensed lawyers and consultants registered with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants are authorized to provide immigration advice and services in exchange for a fee. There is no evidence of Mishra’s membership with either the Law Society of Ontario or the consultants’ college, as education agents are not regulated in Canada.
The arrest and charges against Mishra are linked to an international education scam that garnered attention in Canada and India. Numerous international students were at risk of deportation after being found with manipulated fake admission letters that were used to secure study permits. Mishra is accused of issuing counterfeit acceptance letters to Canadian post-secondary institutions on behalf of prospective Indian students.
The affected students, totaling in the hundreds, claim to have been unaware of the doctored letters and only became aware of the issue when facing scrutiny from border officials during their postgraduate work permit or permanent residence applications. They assert that Mishra and other unscrupulous agents deceived them.
In response to the scandal, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced the suspension of pending deportations for the impacted Indian international students who allege they were deceived by Mishra and other fraudulent agents. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino commended the Canada Border Services Agency’s criminal investigators for their efforts to combat fraud while safeguarding legitimate students pursuing their studies.
The charges against Mishra were filed by the Pacific Region Criminal Investigations Section of the Canada Border Services Agency. Regional Director General Nina Patel expressed appreciation for her officers’ thorough investigation and highlighted the agency’s commitment to holding wrongdoers accountable.
To address the intricate circumstances surrounding each case, senior immigration and border enforcement officials have established a task force to examine the extent of individual students’ involvement in defrauding the system.
The handling of the scam by the immigration department and border agency has come under scrutiny. Some students and their supporters staged protests outside the Canada Border Services Agency office in Toronto, demanding answers. The parliamentary immigration committee initiated its own investigation, seeking clarification from immigration and border officials regarding the delayed detection of counterfeit documents and the potential penalization of innocent students who unknowingly fell victim to the scam.
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