Richmondman Xun “Sunny” Wang appears Wednesday morning in provincial court inVancouver, after pleading guilty in July to eight charges in connectionwith his unlicensed immigration consulting businesses in MetroVancouver. Wang was the target of a two-year investigation by the CanadaBorder Services Agency, who alleged that roughly 165 of his clientswere involved in a “significant immigration fraud -- creating thefictitious appearance of Canadian residency to maintain permanentresident status and obtain Canadian citizenship.”
Canadianinvestigators allege “many” people gained Canadian citizenship throughaltered passports and fake stamps obtained from an unlicensed MetroVancouver immigration consultant set for a sentencing hearing Wednesday.
Richmondman Xun “Sunny” Wang appears Wednesday in provincial court in Vancouverafter pleading guilty in July to eight charges, including counts offraud and making false Chinese passports. He also pleaded guilty tofailing to report $2,722,305 of taxable income from the 2007 to 2012 taxyears, and evading payment of $730,837 of federal income tax.
TheCanada Border Services Agency (CBSA) alleged that roughly 165 of Wang’sclients were involved in a “significant immigration fraud — creatingthe fictitious appearance of Canadian residency tomaintainpermanent-resident status and obtain Canadian citizenship.”
TheCBSA declined an interview, but warrant documents obtained by TheProvince provide details of their two-year probe into Wang.
A24-page report submitted by CBSA investigators to Crown counsel allegesthat Wang “systematically altered passports in support of fraudulentapplications for both permanent residence card renewal and citizenship,using a variety of techniques.”
That report reads: “In many cases,clients became Canadian citizens based on those false calculations andfake stamp impressions.”
Asked how many of Wang’s clients obtainedCanadian citizenship through fraudulent means and what could happen tothem, Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokeswoman Sonia Lesage said:“It would be inappropriate for Citizenship and Immigration Canada tocomment as this matter is still before the courts.”
BarryCartwright, senior lecturer at Simon Fraser University’s School ofCriminology, said citizenship obtained with bogus documentation could berevoked.
Cartwright, who worked for years in immigration law,said: “If it’s egregious enough, if the person knowingly had false visasin their passport to mislead people ... they should have theircitizenship revoked.”
In January 2012, the Criminal InvestigationsSection of the CBSA began probing Wang and his two businesses, New CanConsultants (Canada) Ltd. and Wellong International Investments Ltd.
InOctober 2012, search warrants were executed at three locations: Wang’sresidence, and offices in Richmond and Vancouver. The search resulted inthe seizure of 90 boxes of evidence, 18 computers and “200 originalChinese passports, as well as copies of Chinese passports withalterations on them.”
Wang was arrested in October 2014, and in July 2015 pleaded guilty to eight charges. He has been incustody since June.
Sevenother people were charged in February 2015 in connection with Wang’sunlicensed businesses, and their cases are before the courts.
Richard Kurland, a Vancouver immigration lawyer, said he will watch the outcome of Wang’s case with interest.
Basedon the comprehensive, lengthy CBSA probe into Wang, his businesses andemployees, Kurland said: “They have placed a serious bet that theoutcome will be precedential.”