Border authorities raid former MLA Benito’s home

A former Progressive Conservative MLA is the target of a federal immigration fraud investigation, according to documents filed with Edmonton provincial court.

More than $255,000 in cash was seized from three safes in ex-MLA Carl Benito’s southwest Edmonton home when Canada Border Services Agency investigators conducted a raid on June 28, according to a report to a justice filed with the court. Investigators also seized a number of documents during the search.

The allegations were first reported by CBC Edmonton Thursday.

No criminal charges have been filed against Benito, according to court records.

Authority to execute the warrant was granted on June 27 following an application by border officials that outlined three-years worth of suspected fraudulent activities conducted through the operations of Carl Benito and his son Charles Benito in immigration consultancy businesses Triple Maple Leaf Canada, World Immigration Group, and Helping Migrants Canadian

Immigration Group.

The investigator who filed the 34-page information to obtain a search warrant that was approved by a judge on June 27, alleges that between Nov. 11, 2015 up to when the warrant was executed, Benito advised a number of immigrants whose work permits were about to expire to use fraudulent means to extend their stays in Canada.

ALLEGATIONS

It’s alleged he counselled people to complete and submit study permit applications with no intention of actually attending school, while benefiting from the ability to work 20 hours per week. He is also alleged to have provided his clients with one-day loans of $17,000 so they could prove they met the financial criteria needed to be approved for a study permit.

Benito is also alleged to have encouraged clients to intentionally make errors while applying for work permit extension, which gives the client “implied status,” allowing them to prolong their stay in Canada.

According to the court documents, investigators began their

probe in March, interviewing clients, following leads with educational institutions, examining the businesses’ websites and conducting surveillance.

Investigators waited outside the Benito residence in hopes of conducting a “garbage pull” on April 18, but because the trash was not brought to the curb they weren’t successful.

Instead, they allege they were able to track Charles Benito to the Helping Migrants office in a conference room at Ramada Hotel Edmonton South at 5359 Calgary Trail. An officer who attended the office reported that the space had no document storage, which led them to believe all documents were being stored at the Benitos’ residence.

Benito was the PC MLA for Mill Woods from 2008 to 2012.

Attempts to speak with both Carl Benito and Charles Benito were unsuccessful. On Friday morning, two calls to a number associated with the family were disconnected after a call from a Postmedia reporter.