Court reserves decision for Illegal immigration consulting business

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This article was published 27/11/2017 (2882 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man who acted as an unauthorized immigration consultant for individuals trying to move to Canada and for businesses seeking foreign workers faces house arrest after he admitted to wrongdoing Monday.

Provincial court Judge Alain Huberdeau reserved his decision after hearing details of the case against 68-year-old Hae Suk Yoon, who pleaded guilty to two charges under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Under the law, only lawyers or those recognized as accredited consultants under the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council can charge fees for immigration services.

Yoon was neither, but through his business, HS Yoon Consulting, he billed for more than $347,000 from 380 people and 57 businesses over six years starting in 2009 – after he was warned by the Canada Border Services Agency he wouldn’t be allowed to accept payment unless he was accredited, court heard.

Advertising his business in South Korea, online and in print, Yoon represented people looking to come to Canada, though he always left blank the portion of the paperwork that asked if they had a paid representative. He made applications under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program, applied for permanent residency on immigrants’ behalf and made arrangements with local businesses – including sushi restaurants in Selkirk and Brandon – to supply them with foreign workers.

Federal Crown prosecutor Michael Foote compared Yoon’s illegal consulting business to a doctor or a lawyer working without a licence, and told the judge his purposeful unauthorized work “undermines” Canada’s immigration system.

Defence lawyer Evan Roitenberg took issue with that characterization of his client’s actions, saying Yoon’s only offence was getting paid for his work.

Both Crown and defence recommended a period of house arrest and a fine for Yoon, who came to Canada from South Korea more than 40 years ago. He kept diligent records of his business, which were used against him after investigators conducted a search warrant at his Winnipeg home in November 2014, court heard.

The Crown recommended the judge impose a $100,000 fine and two years less a day of house arrest. Roitenberg asked for a $30,000 fine and one year of house arrest.

“He persisted until he was caught red-handed by the government,” Foote said. “Mr. Yoon was engaged in a very lucrative business with very vulnerable clients.”

After becoming a Canadian citizen sometime around 1980, Yoon worked as a university lab technician until he retired 12 years ago.

“As a member of the community, he was being sought out as somebody who knew how things worked in Canada,” Roitenberg said, suggesting Yoon was spending a lot of time helping others immigrate and eventually decided to charge a fee.

“It started out rather altruistic and morphed into, ‘You know what? I’m going to recoup for some of my time.’ That doesn’t make it right, and I’m not suggesting it does,” Roitenberg said.

He told the judge Yoon invoiced all of his clients, but didn’t collect the money if they were unable to pay him.

Yoon was initially charged with five counts under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and one Criminal Code offence, but the other charges were stayed Monday by the Crown after he pleaded guilty to two charges related to his unlicensed representation.

Huberdeau is to deliver his decision in January.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay