A Rwandan immigrant accused of pimping is suspected by border services of being involved in a vast immigration fraud, where dozens of foreigners allegedly submitted almost identical testimonies to apply for a study visa, then asylum under pretexts doubtful.
“The CBSA [Agence des services frontaliers du Canada] is made to between 50 and 100 individuals using the same modus operandi in order to enter the country illegally,” said Olivier Boisvert of the Sûreté du Québec, at the Gatineau courthouse, last August.
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“Everything suggests that a greater number of individuals using this ploy will be identified in their investigation,” he added.
The investigator was speaking during the hearing on the release of Danny Shema, accused of pimping and sexual assault on two young girls, including a minor.
Danny Shema arrived from Rwanda in 2019 as a student, but quickly requested asylum. Several immigration applications are very similar to his, according to information from the Canada Border Services Agency.
Photo courtesy, Sûreté du Québec
We understand from his testimony that the initial investigation took a completely different turn this summer, to the point of mobilizing the CBSA.
The Agency launched a parallel investigation into “a significant immigration fraud and human trafficking scheme in which [Danny] Shema would be a leader, or at least an active participant.
Striking similarities
At the start of the 2019 school year, Danny Shema arrived in Canada on a visa to study at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. However, he never set foot there, according to the CBSA.
The 26-year-old man instead filed an asylum request to be able to stay in the country, alleging that he had been persecuted for his homosexuality and the political positions of a member of his family in Rwanda, said investigator Boisvert.
The Agency determined that “the majority of Rwandan people observed during surveillance or linked to the investigation” have an immigration background similar to its own.
Police officer Olivier Boisvert gave the example of Daniel Uwayo, accused of non-consensual publication of intimate images in the same case, to demonstrate “how well-established the way of proceeding is”.
“[Uwayo] took a one-way plane ticket to Ottawa and seemed to already have a plan set when he arrived in Canada. His immigration application is virtually identical, many word for word, to […] that of Danny Shema,” he summarized.
Daniel Uwayo was arrested in May 2023 for non-consensual publication of intimate images. His immigration application bears striking similarities to that of Danny Shema.
Photo courtesy, Sûreté du Québec
Residents and employees
Danny Shema employed several newcomers in an employment agency in his name, in addition to taking care of housing them in a motel in Renfrew, an hour from Ottawa.
Some were placed as beneficiary attendants in a seniors’ residence known for its glaring staff shortage issues.
The establishment paid approximately $80,000 every two weeks for these services, according to the investigator’s testimony, while “everything indicates that some of the employees did not have adequate training.”
Note that to date, no charges have been filed against Shema regarding the allegations of immigration fraud. The latter remains detained pending further proceedings.