Thousands to be Stripped of Canadian Citizenship in Historic Fraud Sweep

OTTAWA — The federal government is set to crack down on 4,700 more people believed to have obtained citizenship or permanent resident status illegally in what’s being dubbed the biggest citizenship fraud sweep in Canadian history.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is expected to make the announcement that “Canadian citizenship is not for sale” on Friday.

He will unveil the details in Montreal where Nizar Zakka — an immigration consultant suspected of fraud — was arrested in 2009. Zakka is suspected of providing would-be Lebanese immigrants with false evidence — indicating that they were living in Quebec when they were not — to support their cases for permanent residency.


He’s also accused of filing or contributing to the filing of 861 false tax returns for at least 380 clients between 2004 and 2007. The returns allegedly were then used to claim refunds for child care and property taxes as well as the provincial sales-tax credit.

The announcement comes six months after the government moved to strip 1,800 people of their Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status for the same reasons. Up until this year, Canada had revoked just 67 citizenships since the Citizenship Act came into force in 1947.

The bulk of the citizenship fraud cases are said to be linked to Zakka as well as Halifax immigration consultant Hassan Al-Awaid, who was charged in March with more than 50 citizenship fraud-related offences.

The cases are also tied to a third consultant from Mississauga, Ont., west of Toronto, who remains under investigation, according to a government source who noted the others were brought to light thanks to the new citizenship fraud tip line.


Unveiled in September, the tip line already has fielded 5,366 calls.

Letters are currently being sent to the 6,500 people from 100 countries indicating that Canada is revoking their citizenship or permanent resident status due to fraud.

This comes following a lengthy investigation by the RCMP and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration.

Alleged fraudsters, the majority of whom are not currently living in Canada, have up to 60 days to appeal the decision in Federal Court before cabinet moves to void their passports and strip them of all rights and privileges.

According to Citizenship and Immigration, to maintain permanent resident status a person must reside in Canada for at least two years within a five-year period. Permanent residents seeking citizenship must show proof that they’ve lived in Canada for at least three of the last four years before applying.

At the time of Al-Awaid’s arrest, Kenney said he was suspected of helping people “create the appearance they were residing in Canada in order to keep their permanent resident status, and ultimately attempt to acquire citizenship.”

He said investigators had linked Al-Awaid to 1,100 applicants and their dependents, 76 of whom had obtained Canadian citizenship.

He noted that many people were prevented from “fraudulently obtaining citizenship” as a result of the investigation.

The government has been taking action against citizenship fraud for some time. The Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act, which imposes tough new penalties for immigration consultants convicted of fraud, including fines and/or prison, is now law in Canada.

Postmedia News

CTTA Offering Surveillance Course

Level 1 Surveillance Techniques - 3 days

Time:	18 November at 09:00 - 20 November at 17:00
Location:	Canadian Tactical Training Academy 7000, chemin Cote-de-Liesse, Suite #8A, Montreal, Quebec, H4T 1E7
Website:	www.ctta-global.com
	Course Dates: November 18, 19, 20, 2011 Course Description: This is an introductory course designed for individuals and organizations involved with conducting surveillance. This course is 65% hands on accompanied by lectures that focus on the techniques used in conducting a moving or stationary surveillance. The 3-day course consists of 1 day theory, 1 day practical and 1 day scenario based. Requirements: No criminal record, provincial investigator’s permit preferred but not required. Cost:  $450 $100 deposit required by November 15, 2011. This course is being given in English. A French course will be offered in spring 2012.

The Social Media Canvass: A 21st Century Law Enforcement Tool

When a violent crime occurs and the police respond they begin to establish a command post where they plan on where and how to conduct the canvass for additional witnesses. There are many types of canvasses that the police conduct and now we have one with a 21st century twist. Properly conducted canvasses SHAVES hours off investigative time. Here are the different types of canvasses investigators should deploy during a major investigation:

Surveillance Camera Canvass
Hospital Canvass
Additional Witness Canvass
Vehicle Canvass
Evidence Canvass
Social Media Canvass

At the makeshift command post an investigative strategy takes place with the supervisor and the investigators. They develop a plan on what buildings to canvass first for additional witnesses. Generally, they start with the building that faces the scene and spiral outwards from there. However, before doing the traditional canvasses, investigators have a new tool at their disposal, the Social Media Canvass.

The Social Media Canvass allows investigators to follow the conversations about the incident via social media. A couple of clicks or swipes and investigators are “listening to the chatter on the electronic street.” The two most popular social media venues are Twitter and Facebook. Twitter is a lot easier to work with because you don’t need an account to start conducting searches.

For instance, the investigator arrives at the scene of a homicide on Main Street in Anytown. They step over the yellow tape and into the hot zone. Before the investigator whips out his/her’s reporter’s notebook and starts knocking on doors, they’ll pull out the department issued wireless tablet, laptop or smartphone and start searching. This is a better strategy then deciding on what door to knock on. Within seconds of an incident, people in the neighborhood, and sometimes those that are involved, are tweeting or posting on Facebook.

Here is how a search could work. The investigator goes to the Twitter.com search box and uses the hashtag (#) and types what they are looking for. In this scenario, the shooting occurred on Main Street in Anytown, so the separate searches would look something like this: #MainStreet, #MainSt, #Anytown, #ShootingMainStreet or any other combination. Based on the information they see, a better canvass strategy can be developed. Recently while searching for information on a past shooting incident, I found a Tweet that stated in sum and substance, “the cops just showed up at “Bill’s” house be careful of what you post.”

Catching conversations on Facebook is challenging because the investigator needs an account to start searching. That account should be an authorized department account, not their personal one. As easy it is for law enforcement to track suspects, they can track us!

Since there are over 700 million users on Facebook there is a good chance that your suspect has an account, especially if they are in the young adult age range. Before signing onto Facebook with the department’s password, the investigator should conduct a few general searches to narrow the focus. Most, if not all investigators will go straight to Google, but that is not the best search for Facebook. Microsoft’s Bing is Facebook’s default search engine. Another free site that provides an individual’s social media page information without signing up for an account is http://pipl.com.

Once the page is discovered it maybe public, which means limited information, such as a photo, street name, etc., can be viewed without being friends. However, if the page is for friends only, look at the lower left hand part of the screen. It often provides friends of the target’s page. Click on the target’s friends because one of their sites maybe public, which would allow the investigator to enter their world.

As the use of social media by police investigators increases in the short term, there will be many court challenges regarding it’s use in the future. It is important for investigators to follow the policies and procedures set forth by their departments. Do not do anything that can jeopardize your career, the case or your personal safety.

Joseph L. Giacalone is a 19 year NYPD Detective Sergeant with an extensive background in criminal investigations. He has held many prestigious positions, but his favorite was the Commanding Officer of the Cold Case Homicide Squad. Joe obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice with a Specialty in Crime and Deviance from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2005. He has been an Adjunct Professor at John Jay since January of 2006 and is the author of the Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators, published by Looseleaf Law. You can follow Joe on Twitter: @ColdCaseSquad or @JoeGiacalone or on the web at: coldcasesquad.com