Details emerge of an Indian education agent charged in Canada

As some of the people he is accused of defrauding may have been deported from Canada in March, an Indian education agent was living under the radar in British Columbia, the Star has learned.

Brijesh Mishra shared a rented house with five other people in Surrey, BC, while authorities in India and Canada tried to track him down for his alleged role in a fake Canadian admission letter scam.

Even after his visitor visa was revoked for alleged “ghost consultation,” Mishra managed to enter this country last October and cross the US border without being detected.

When Mishra tried again this month to cross the border into the US, he was finally arrested. Two days later, he found himself begging for his release and offering to fly home himself.

“I have a card from India, the credit and debit card I used to support myself,” he told an immigration tribunal, pleading for his release.

“If I need more money, my wife sends it to me with my cards. That’s what I use,” said the father of a two-and-a-half-year-old as he explained how he had supported himself since he first entered this country from south of the border without a visa on Oct. 17.

A group of international students, reportedly numbering in the hundreds, have been flagged for possible deportation, accused of misrepresenting their study permit applications.

They say they were unaware that the university admission letters they had been given had been manipulated, saying they only learned after they completed their courses and applied for postgraduate work permits, only to be flagged by border officials. Some cases were identified during the permanent residency application process of the students.

Mishra has now been charged with offering immigration advice without a license and with advising an individual to directly or indirectly misrepresent or withhold information from authorities

According to his detention review hearing, Mishra was granted a visa in 2019, but it was canceled by the Canadian Mission in Delhi “due to possible involvement in fraudulent activities involving ghost counselors”, before an alert was issued on him in February 2021.

Only licensed attorneys and consultants registered with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants can provide legal immigration advice and services for a fee. Those who do not have these qualifications are referred to as “ghost consultants.”

Mishra was able to enter Canada in October through the port of entry in Douglas on the Arizona border. It is unclear why Mishra had been in the US. CBSA declined to comment on how Mishra was able to enter Canada without a valid visa, citing the ongoing investigation in which he was involved.

Based on his previous visa application files, authorities emailed him twice after he had been in Canada, informing him of his “inadmissibility due to organized crime”, but received no response.

Border officials searched for Mishra on April 27 and visited an address in Surrey. After a futile attempt to locate him, Canada Border Services Agency issued a warrant for his arrest on May 4.

He was arrested on June 14 while trying to re-enter Canada through the US land border.

At his detention inquiry two days later, the government alleged that Mishra was involved in “massive immigration fraud” in connection with his positions with Easy Way Immigration and Education and Migration Services Australia.

It said his two co-directors of the company have been arrested and denied bail in India, protesting Mishra’s release over fears he would not appear for his admissibility hearing or removal.

“He has shown that he can be quite mobile within Canada and go undetected by the immigration authorities who are actively looking for him,” said Margaret Neville, government counsel.

“He’s even been mobile wherever he’s stayed in the Lower Mainland and … it would be very easy for Mr. Mishra to go underground and go undetected again.”

Neville accused Mishra of failing to come forward with the CBSA about his arrest history in India when he was intercepted this month asking about a police investigation in India into a company he was involved in between 2010 and 2013. He initially denied there was a police investigation.

“Have you ever – like, never had another lawsuit?” asked the border agent.

“No,” Mishra replied.

He also initially denied knowing the lawyer who allegedly represented him in that case, before admitting it was his wife who hired the lawyer and stating that he was aware of the “ongoing troubles” in India and the allegations against him.

“Do you read the news at all?” asked the CBSA officer.

“TikTok sometimes. Deportation of students in the news, I was never involved in it,” Mishra responded unsolicited. “This is a false accusation. It is fake news.”

In his plea for the man’s release, Mishra’s lawyer said there is no court record before the tribunal supporting his client’s arrest in May 2013. The lawyer said that Mishra could not be in India at the time because he was working in Australia, as evidenced by the entry and exit stamps in his passports.

Regarding the allegations of Mishra’s involvement in organized criminal activities, his lawyer said the only evidence from the government came from a news report, which suggested that the man was wanted by the local police in connection with allegations of various crimes.

“He being charged does not mean that Mr. Mishra himself has been involved in any criminal activity, that he could have been – all his conduct could have been duly issuing documents, arranging paperwork for applications without any misrepresentation business,” the tribunal said. told.

“The activity could have been carried out solely by the person already arrested or the other person whom Indian authorities are allegedly seeking in connection with this alleged crime.”

Mishra said he had not seen his young child in India since he came to Canada in October and their only communication was via WhatsApp video calls, which are not allowed in the detention center.

He also told the tribunal that he wanted to leave Canada as soon as possible and asked if he could just buy his own flight to leave the country.

After reviewing the evidence and submissions, the tribunal maintained Mishra’s detention until the next review on June 23, the same day he was charged.

Two weeks ago, the group of Indian international students was granted a reprieve from Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, who agreed to halt their impending deportations until a task force investigates each case to determine whether they are innocent or complicit in playing the Canadian immigration system.

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @nkeung

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