Four Richmondites on trial for allegedly falsifying immigration information for 67 people
They also asked to add more defendants to the lawsuit.
Master Bilawich acknowledged there would be “significant challenges” to the logistics of adding 56 new plaintiffs, and the two plaintiff companies had offered a “less than satisfactory” explanation for their substantial delay in adding the new parties.
However, he ultimately decided it would be “just and convenient” to add the new parties.
Other defendants in the lawsuit include immigration consultant Ajay Sehgal and his company First Choice Immigration Services, and Kashif Ahmed an immigration lawyer, who were all alleged to have been involved in preparing and submitting some of the applications.
The alleged victims briefly started and discontinued a class action in the B.C. Supreme Court against UCII in 2016. Zhelun and Mega, also have an ongoing lawsuit in Yukon against UCII.
Some defendants have been charged with criminal offences and a trial is ongoing at Richmond Provincial Court.
Defendants reply to immigration suit
Several defendants have responded to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over an alleged fraudulent immigration scheme.
By Emily Blake on July 6, 2017
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Several defendants have responded to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over an alleged fraudulent immigration scheme.
The suit was launched in Yukon Supreme Court on March 20 by two immigration companies, Ningbo Zhelun Overseas Immigration Services Co. Ltd. (Zhelun) and Mega International Labour and Immigration Services Inc.
It claims the companies and their clients, prospective Canadian immigrants from China, are owed more than $4 million for unsuccessful immigration applications.
The suit names 11 defendants including USA-Canada International Investment Inc. (UCII); Xunfan Jiang and Yeuming Zeng, listed as directors of UCII; First Choice Immigration; and Ajay Sehgal, an immigration consultant and owner and operator of First Choice.
But Jiang, Zeng, Sehgal and First Choice have responded to the suit, denying its claims.
Jiang and Zeng recently filed a statement of defence claiming they were wrongly listed as defendants in the suit.
The statement explains that UCII was incorporated in 1998 then dissolved and restored in 2008.
It states UCII 1998 and UCII 2008 are two separate entities. While the husband and wife were directors of UCII 1998, they say they have nothing to do with UCII 2008, the company named in the suit.
“They have never done, or authorized anyone else to do, or have any relationship with any wrong alleged in the claim,” reads the statement.
In their statement of defence, Sehgal and First Choice claim that at no time were they part of an agreement with UCII involving the alleged wrongdoing in the suit.
Rather, First Choice provided immigration services to UCII limited to reviewing certain permanent residence applications for errors or omissions.
According to this agreement, the statement says, First Choice was not required to review the final versions of draft applications or submit them to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
It also says they did not prepare, receive nor review Yukon Business Nomination Program (YBNP) applications but only received what appeared to be valid Yukon certificates of nomination as part of the draft applications.
“These defendants did not make any misrepresentations to the plaintiffs, either negligently, fraudulently or otherwise,” reads the statement.
The lawsuit claims that in November 2013, Tzuchun (Joyce) Chang, a director of UCII, approached Zhelun with the YBNP as an easy way for clients to immigrate to Canada.
According to the YNBP website, through the program, nominees receive a two-year work permit to start their own business in the Yukon or purchase an existing business.
After the permit ends, the Yukon government may support them in applications for permanent residency if they meet certain requirements.
Zhelun claims Chang said it would only take one month to qualify for the program, there would be no immigration reviews, and it did not require many of the mandatory requirements for other nomination programs including language requirements.
But Jason Mackey, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, told the Star in April that requirements to qualify for the program include language competency, a minimum of three years’ experience in entrepreneurship or business management, five years’ relevant work experience, and a minimum $500,000 net worth and $300,000 in liquid assets.
After the two-year work permit ends, to qualify for permanent residency support, nominees must settle in the Yukon and demonstrate an extended $300,000 capital investment in their business.
According to the suit, in June 2015, many of the clients who applied for visas or permanent residency were contacted by Canadian Immigration Services for screening interviews.
Zhelun estimates clients provided UCII with about $4,054,838 by this time.
The following month, about 60 applicants had interviews that were unsuccessful, and were told that the certificates of nomination allegedly issued by the Yukon government were false or invalid.
