Two charged in $126,000 international student fraud scheme

As Canada limits the number of international students it lets into the country, immigration schemers are also targetting young people from the international community aspiring to land jobs in the country.

Recently, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) laid a dozen criminal charges against two individuals accused of defrauding international students of an estimated $126,000 through a false tuition scheme. 

“The Canada Border Services Agency is protecting vulnerable individuals from fraud and other harms,” said Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety. “Those seeking to profit from fraudulent financial schemes are being held to account and brought to justice.”

Investigation

The CBSA said its Intelligence and Enforcement Division opened the investigation in February 2025 after receiving a tip from Lambton College. Investigators subsequently interviewed the victims and launched what the agency described as an extensive investigation into the alleged scheme.

Two individuals are alleged to have taken money from international students by falsely promising the funds would be used to pay their tuition fees. According to the CBSA, victims were provided with fraudulent enrolment documents but were not enrolled in the post-secondary programs that had been promised to them.

The CBSA executed two search warrants at the residences and businesses of the accused individuals, collecting evidence of the alleged fraudulent scheme from electronic devices. Investigators subsequently obtained additional warrants to examine digital forensic data extracted from those devices.

The charges

Both individuals were charged on June 2, 2026, following the digital forensic analysis, the CBSA said. Each faces four counts of fraud over $5,000, contrary to section 380(1) of the Criminal Code; four counts of uttering forged documents, contrary to section 368(1)(b) of the Criminal Code; and four counts of counselling misrepresentation, contrary to section 126 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Hardik Dave of Cambridge, Ont., is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in London, Ont., on July 10, 2026. Jainishkumar Patel, 35, of London, Ont., is believed to have fled the country and is wanted on an arrest warrant, according to the CBSA.

The charges have not been proven and remain subject to validation by the court.

“Canada Border Services Agency investigators are uncovering immigration fraud schemes and gathering evidence to bring offenders to justice,” said Michael Prosia, Regional Director General, CBSA Southern Ontario Region. “In doing so, our officers are upholding the law and protecting vulnerable people from exploitation.”

Previously, two Saskatchewan firms were charged with multiple offences under provincial immigration and foreign worker protection legislation, adding to the number of bad actors exploiting the country’s immigration system.

As of April 1, 2026, post-secondary international students don’t need a co-op work permit for student work placements such as co-op placements or internships. Co-op work permit holders can keep using their permit for its entire validity, according to the federal government.

Letters of acceptance

Since Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced its letter-of-acceptance verification system in December 2023, the department has reported more than 10,000 fraudulent documents intercepted in less than a year of the system's operation. In 2024 alone, IRCC's own transparency disclosures show it verified more than 650,000 letters of acceptance with designated learning institutions, and 14,255 of those letters received a "no match" response — meaning the institution could not confirm the letter was genuine. 

However, a "no match" doesn't automatically mean the applicant was a fraud victim; IRCC says each case then gets an officer review to confirm authenticity. 

The Auditor General's March 2026 report on the International Student Program found that IRCC identified 800 individuals, admitted between 2018 and 2023, who were later confirmed to have used fraudulent documents or misrepresented information in their applications — but the department did not consistently follow up on those cases, and more than half of those individuals went on to have further immigration applications approved. 

The data, however, does not specify if these students are victims of immigration fraud.

New student arrivals to Canada reached 4,940 in April 2026. Comparing January through April 2026 to the same period in 2024, IRCC's own data shows there were 84% fewer new student arrivals, a drop of 83,320 permit holders.

Canadian colleges and universities across three provinces are cutting jobs and programs as international student numbers plunge under new federal caps, according to a previous report.