Man pleads guilty to fraud charges in TFW scheme

An Edmonton man who acted as an unauthorized immigration consultant has pleaded guilty to abusing Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program and is set to be sentenced this week.

Seong Yong Park, also known as David Park, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act on May 9. Park was charged with working as an unauthorized immigration consultant and “inducing” at least 20 foreign nationals to enter Canada under the TFW program between 2012 and 2014.

Park’s sentencing hearing is set for May 24 in Edmonton provincial court.

Park pleaded guilty to fraudulently charging fees to his clients and securing employment for them using false or misleading information, according to a release from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

He also illegally helped businesses obtain Labour Market Impact Assessments, which determine whether there is a need for a foreign worker to fill a job.

The TFW program allows Canadian employers to hire foreign nationals to temporarily fill gaps in the labour market if they cannot find citizens or permanent residents to do the job. The federal government placed the program under a temporary moratorium in 2014 after several high-profile instances of abuse.

“The CBSA takes immigration fraud very seriously and is committed to fully investigating and prosecuting those who violate our laws and seek to profit illegally from our immigration system,” CBSA regional director general Kim Scoville said in a release.

Park was involved in recruiting foreign workers for a gas station owned by Yoo and Yoo Enterprises Ltd., which was allegedly having trouble finding local employees. The company pleaded guilty to illegally employing nine Filipino workers in May 2016 and was fined $36,000.

It was one of three “significant” charges under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in Edmonton last year, the CBSA said.

In February 2016, Jennilyn Morris was found guilty in Edmonton provincial court of employing at least 68 foreign nationals who were in Canada either as visitors or with work permits for other employers.

She also used false or misleading information to induce three Filipinos to come to Canada to work for her company. Morris was the first person in Alberta to be charged and convicted under the act and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and required to pay restitution in May 2016.