IQALUIT — A Toronto woman has been sentenced to three years in prison after falsely claiming her two daughters were Inuit in order to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars in benefits.
“This is a blatant example of exploitation of Indigenous people,” Justice Mia Manocchio of the Nunavut Court said Thursday during Karima Manji’s sentencing hearing.
“Ms Manji’s case should serve as a signal to any future so-called Aboriginal person that false appropriation of Aboriginal identity in a criminal context will result in severe punishment.”
Judge Manocchio actually handed down a harsher sentence than the Crown had recommended, ranging from 18 months to two years in prison.
The Nunavut Tunngavik organization, which oversees Inuit registration under the territory’s land claim agreement, believes this is the first case of fraud of this type in the northern territory. It would also be the first time that a person has been imprisoned for such a crime in Nunavut.
“Justice Manocchio has set a precedent with her decision today, sending a clear message to potential fraudsters that Indigenous identity theft will not be tolerated,” said the Inuit organization’s president, Aluki Kotierk, in a statement.
Cards for her twins
Manji, who is not Inuit, pleaded guilty in February to one count of fraud over $5,000. In 2016, she applied for registration cards for her twin daughters, falsely claiming their Inuit status, making them eligible for benefits.
The twins – Nadya and Amira Gill – were born in Mississauga, Ontario; They were then about to turn 18. In her application, Ms. Manji stated that the girls were Inuit, that their biological mother was Kitty Noah, an Inuit, and that she herself was their adoptive mother.
The court heard the Gill twins then used the registration cards to receive monetary benefits from two organizations. For more than two years, starting in September 2020, the sisters received a total of more than $158,000.
Kitty Noah has since died. The matter came to light when her family raised concerns about Manji, the twins and their fake family ties.
Charges against the two young women were dropped when Manji pleaded guilty. The court heard the twins were unaware their cards had been acquired fraudulently.
Kitty Noah’s son, Noah Noah, told the court his mother was a loving, caring and kind woman who was taken advantage of.
Judge Manocchio said Manji’s actions were an insult to the Noah family. She said the Gill sisters were also victims of their mother’s deception, saying their lives and careers had been compromised by the crime.
Ms Manji, who has already repaid $130,000, was ordered to repay the balance.
Her lawyer, J. Scott Cowan, argued that his client intended to make full restitution, that her crime did not involve “artful or prolonged” deception and that the funds were used for academic purposes rather whether out of greed or to support a lavish lifestyle.
Mr. Cowan had recommended a suspended prison sentence, or nine to 12 months in prison. In an email sent after the sentencing, he argued “that the unique characteristics of this case led the judge to impose an exemplary sentence.”
The Public Prosecution Service of Canada, responsible for criminal prosecutions in Nunavut, said the sentence “will warn those who may be tempted in the future of what awaits them if they attempt to make such false statements.”
Manji had a criminal record for fraud. In August 2017, she was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence of two years less a day, followed by one year of probation, for fraud over $5,000.
