Man who used fake passport 16 times gets two years

CALGARY – A Ghanaian man who used a fraudulent Canadian passport to leave and re-enter the country 16 times was sentenced Monday in Calgary to two years in prison for citizenship fraud.

Jefferson Zormelo, 22, pleaded guilty earlier this year to violating the Canadian Citizenship Act. Justice Karen Molle said his actions “attack the integrity of the Canadian citizenship regime,” according to CBC News, which first reported the sentence. With credit for the time he has served since his arrest, Zormelo has about 14 months left behind bars.

The case has been one of the most-searched topics in Canada over the past day, according to Google Trends.

Zormelo came to Canada on a study permit in 2021, according to an agreed statement of facts filed with the guilty plea. In 2024, authorities determined he was no longer enrolled in school and issued an exclusion order for his removal from the country.

He then obtained identification documents, including a proof of citizenship under a false name, and used them to get a Canadian passport, which was issued in December 2024 under the name Mitchell Leblanc, the court heard.

Over the next 15 months, Zormelo entered and exited Canada 16 times through the international airports in Montreal, Toronto and Halifax using the Leblanc passport, according to the statement of facts.

He was arrested in April 2026 by Canada Border Services Agency officers in Calgary after he presented a fake permanent residency card in the Leblanc name to officials at the U.S. Consulate. Officers then searched his hotel room and found, among other things, the fraudulent passport.

Crown prosecutor Tyler Lord had sought a five-year prison sentence. Defence lawyer Devin Frank asked the court for a time-served sentence of nine months in jail, arguing his client had a difficult upbringing in Ghana that involved poverty and abuse.

Molle agreed with the Crown that a penitentiary-level sentence was warranted, but she stopped short of the five years Lord proposed. She noted Zormelo was “desperate to live and work in Canada.” She also cited aggravating factors, including that he used his intellect to carry out a “sophisticated, elaborate” fraud.

“The offence jeopardized public safety and our national security,” Molle said. “Fraudulent use of Canadian passports affects Canada’s international reputation.” She added that “clever criminals pose a greater risk to public safety.”

The sentence was also reported by Ghanaian outlets, including MyJoyOnline, and by CTC News.

File photo of the Calgary Courts Centre, not from the sentencing. Photo: Ultimateshot, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Source: CBC News via Yahoo News Canada.

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