MBA graduate arrested for immigration fraud

New Delhi: An MBA graduate posing as an immigration and overseas investment consultant has been arrested for allegedly cheating a woman of nearly Rs 1.8 crore on the false promise of securing immigration to Canada. The accused duped the woman through a fake business investment programme and continued misleading her despite repeated rejection of her visa applications, police said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Dharminder Sharma, a resident of Dera Bassi, Punjab, was arrested in connection with the case.

According to investigators, the complainant wanted to immigrate to Canada after the first wave of Covid-19 to seek better employment opportunities. During this period, she came in contact with Sharma, who introduced himself as the director (operations) of an immigration consultancy firm and claimed expertise in Canadian immigration and overseas investment programmes.

Police said Sharma allegedly convinced the woman to invest 2.5 lakh Canadian dollars in a purported business investment scheme and additionally collected 45,000 Canadian dollars as professional fees, bringing the total amount involved to around Rs 1.8 crore.

The accused allegedly assured the complainant that the investment would help her secure Canadian immigration, work permits and business ownership rights. To gain her trust, Sharma allegedly prepared documents showing that she would become a director and shareholder in a hospitality company based in Canada.

However, during the investigation, police found that the complainant was never inducted as a shareholder or director in the company, and the ownership remained with other individuals. Investigators further alleged that after receiving the money in foreign bank accounts, the accused siphoned off the funds through cash withdrawals, debit transactions and routing the money through multiple accounts instead of using it for legitimate business purposes.

Police said the accused allegedly continued to give false assurances and filed reconsideration requests even after Canadian authorities rejected the complainant’s visa applications thrice, allegedly to avoid refunding the money.