A Fort McMurray woman who pleaded guilty to accepting money in exchange for helping people with their immigration applications has been fined $10,000.
Charie Santos pleaded guilty to one charge under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in September. Under the act, only lawyers or authorized immigration consultants can by paid to help a person with their immigration applications.
According to an agreed statement of facts, 13 people said they paid Santos to help with applications for work permits and permanent residency papers.
Judge James Jacques sentenced Santos in Fort McMurray provincial court on Tuesday morning. In addition to the $10,000 fine, the judge ordered Santos to pay a total of $1,750 to be split between five people who wanted their money back.
“The Crown is pleased in the end she will have a criminal record so it will serve as general deterrence,” Crown prosecutor Moira Váně said outside court. “You do need to follow the rules surrounding immigration consultancy work.”
But Váně said under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Santos’s crimes were minor.
“We see charges that are far more serious, such as human trafficking,” Váně said. “Though all charges are serious.”
‘One thing led to another’
Santos’s lawyer, Bjorn Harsanyi, presented the court with several reference letters as evidence that Santos volunteered and donated her time to charitable causes in Fort McMurray and the Philippines.
Harsanyi said Santos was “self-taught” in Canada’s “bureaucratic” immigration system. Some clients sought her help and offered her money not as payment but as gifts, Harsanyi said.
“One thing led to another,” Harsanyi said, adding Santos soon started receiving more requests for help.
“The key point to be made is she never intended to defraud anyone or harm anyone,” Harsanyi said. “This wasn’t a scheme that was designed to take advantage of people in vulnerable situations.”
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