Here is a sotry from teh Montreal Gazzette. What I find interesting is the apparent ease the fraudsters managed to get helth care documentation, whihc calls into question the safegurds in place in the system. More to come...
3,000 would-be immigrants used fake medicare cards: report
The GazetteJanuary 24, 2009
Quebec’s health care insurance board and the RCMP have uncovered a ring of about 3,000 north Africans allegedly using fake medicare cards to help themselves immigrate to Canada, according to a report in La Presse published Saturday.
In a statement, the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Quebec confirmed that it is investigating “a sophisticated subterfuge that apparently was set up by an immigration consultant to make believe his clients live in Quebec.” It did not say how many people might be involved, however.
The operation apparently permitted non-residents of Canada to gather various types of proof of residence in Quebec, the Régie added.
Children were signed up, in name only, in schools and at day camps to prove families’ residence, the La Presse story said.
Those allegedly benefiting from the operation live in Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, the story said.
Luc Bessette, a spokesperson for the RCMP, told The Gazette he could not confirm or deny that there is an ongoing investigation into the matter. But he said the RCMP does occasionally investigate issues of fraud for the health insurance board.
Coincidentally, Revenue Quebec officers this week conducted eight raids in Montreal and Laval on Décision immigration 2000, Inc., an immigration consulting firm.
Revenue Quebec suspects the firm’s administrator and two employees of producing false income statements for non-residents since December 2004, a statement from the agency said.
It is not known if the case is linked to the investigation by the health insurance board.
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