Two charged, third sought in visa and immigration scam targeting Iranian-Canadians
Aliasghar Aminian, 65, of Richmond Hill, is wanted
Article content
Editor’s Note: All charges were withdrawn against Bahareh Attarbashi and Akramossadat Nasseri after this story was published.
Two women and a man are accused of running a visa and immigration scam that targeted the Iranian-Canadian community.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Two charged, third sought in visa and immigration scam targeting Iranian-Canadians Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
York Regional Police say their Financial Crime Unit launched an investigation in 2022 after receiving a complaint about two people who had allegedly committed fraud using a company name.
Investigators learned that three people had offered visa and immigration services to two Markham residents, Sgt. Andy Pattenden alleged Wednesday.
Three suspects were subsequently identified – two of them were arrested and the third is still sought.
“The victims paid the accused large amounts of money to obtain visa assistance for their relatives to come to Canada,” Pattenden alleged. “However, the accused were not qualified and were unable to follow through on their services, defrauding the victims of more than $40,000.”
Bahareh Attarbashi, 45, and Akramossadat Nasseri, 66, both of Richmond Hill, are charged with defrauding the public over $5,000, conspiracy to commit fraud over $5,000, participation in a criminal organization.
Nasseri is also charged with uttering a forged document.
Aliasghar Aminian, 65, of Richmond Hill, is wanted and police are still trying to locate him.
Attarbashi claims on her LinkedIn page that she is a “mortgage specialist” and “real estate agent.”
She also describes herself as an “experienced finance manager.”
“The investigation is still ongoing,” Pattenden said.
Investigators claim the accused targeted victims from within the Iranian-Canadian community and they are concerned about the possibility of other alleged victims who have yet to come forward.
Anyone with information about this investigation, or who believes they have been victimized, is urged to call the Financial Crimes Unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6611, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.