Edmonton businesswoman fined, put on house arrest for scamming newcomers
An Ontario woman working in Edmonton has been convicted of defrauding newcomers of tens of thousands of dollars.
Maneet 'Mani' Malhotra, the entrepreneur behind NAMI Immigration Inc., has to pay $148,000 in victim restitution and also received an 18-month conditional sentence, including six months of house arrest.
Canada Border Services Agency began investigating her in 2019 after a referral from Alberta's Temporary Foreign Worker Advisory Office.
CBSA found Malhotra was paid $30,000 by one client and $45,000 by another to arrange work in Alberta.
"Instead of receiving jobs, they were forced into a scheme where they were required to pay for fraudulent pay stubs," CBSA said in a news release Monday.
CBSA investigators also found other instances in which Malhotra charged for immigration services, including fake job offers and forged documents.
She was not a registered immigration consultant or practicing lawyer.
CBSA searched NAMI Immigration in December 2019, finding fraudulent documents and other client information.
She was charged on April 21, 2023, and arrested at her home in Mississauga, Ont., on May 1, 2023.
She pleaded guilty to charging for immigration services without the legal authorization to do so in Edmonton on April 8.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
BREAKING Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
Widespread theft costing Canada's retail industry dearly: experts
The Retail Council of Canada wants to put a stop to widespread theft within the retail industry, and industry leaders are meeting this week to find solutions.
Former South Dakota mayor charged with triple homicide
Three people were shot to death in a small South Dakota town, and a former law officer who once served as the town's mayor is charged in the killings.