Edmonton businesswoman fined, put on house arrest for scamming newcomers

An Ontario woman working in Edmonton has been convicted of defrauding newcomers of tens of thousands of dollars.

Maneet 'Mani' Malhotra, the entrepreneur behind NAMI Immigration Inc., has to pay $148,000 in victim restitution and also received an 18-month conditional sentence, including six months of house arrest.

Canada Border Services Agency began investigating her in 2019 after a referral from Alberta's Temporary Foreign Worker Advisory Office.

CBSA found Malhotra was paid $30,000 by one client and $45,000 by another to arrange work in Alberta.

"Instead of receiving jobs, they were forced into a scheme where they were required to pay for fraudulent pay stubs," CBSA said in a news release Monday.

CBSA investigators also found other instances in which Malhotra charged for immigration services, including fake job offers and forged documents.

She was not a registered immigration consultant or practicing lawyer.

CBSA searched NAMI Immigration in December 2019, finding fraudulent documents and other client information.

She was charged on April 21, 2023, and arrested at her home in Mississauga, Ont., on May 1, 2023.

She pleaded guilty to charging for immigration services without the legal authorization to do so in Edmonton on April 8.