Judge revokes bail as sentencing begins in Inuit registration fraud cases

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Karima Manji left the Iqaluit courthouse in handcuffs Monday afternoon as she awaits sentencing in her fraud case, which is set for Thursday.

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Earlier this year, Manji pleaded guilty to defrauding more than $5,000 in an Inuit enrollment case that drew international attention. She has been out on bail since being charged in September 2023.

In 2016, Manji fraudulently obtained Inuit enrollment with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. for her 25-year-old twin daughters, Amira and Nadya Gill, according to an agreed statement of facts.

NTI is the organization responsible for ensuring that Inuit receive the benefits they are entitled to under the Nunavut Agreement.

Through this enrollment, the twins earned $158,254.05 in scholarships from the Kakivak Association, which provides financial support to Qikiqtani Inuit students.

With the money, the twins paid for their studies at Queen’s University in Kingston.

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Gills also launched an online store selling products, including COVID-19 T-shirts and masks, featuring indigenous artwork. Profits went to the charity Indspire, which provides scholarships to Indigenous students.

In March 2023, Inuit activists took to social media to question the identity of the twins.

The twins were also charged with fraud in September 2023 at the same time as their mother, but the Crown dropped those charges when Manji pleaded guilty in February 2024.

Manji appeared in person at the Iqaluit courthouse for Monday’s hearing – the first time she has done so since being charged.

Wearing a COVID-19 face mask, she sat quietly as Crown attorney Sarah White and defense attorney Scott Cowan made their remarks to Judge Mia Manocchio.

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Both White and Noah Noah – whose late mother Kitty Noah’s name was used to obtain the NTI cards – said they were hoping for a prison sentence of 18 months to two years less a day, a sentence that Manji they could do it in a prison instead of a prison. federal prison.

Cowan was seeking a suspended sentence, meaning Manji would not have to go to jail.

In Crown submissions, White said there was limited case law as this could be the first time someone has been charged and convicted of Indigenous identity theft fraud.

“Miss. Manji’s actions were deliberate and calculated,” White said.

She mentioned that Manji paid back $130,000 of the money her daughters got.

Marie Belleau, an attorney for NTI, read a victim impact statement on behalf of her organization.

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Belleau said Manji’s actions caused “irreparable damage,” resulting in lost opportunities for Inuit youth.

Manji’s actions forced NTI to tighten its Inuit enrollment process to prevent others from obtaining fraudulent enrollment, she said.

Noah, who came to court with his family, described in his statement how Manji’s actions affected him, while also talking about his mother.

“Kitty was pretty, although she didn’t have much,” he said, describing his mother as the “opposite” of Manji. “The stress on my family was terrible.”

In defense statements, Cowan pointed out that Manji had already paid most of the money her daughters received.

Manji owns property in Toronto and works “odd jobs,” he said.

Manocchio referred to Manji’s previous fraud conviction.

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In 2017, she was sentenced to two years less a day for defrauding the March of Dimes charity in Toronto.

Cowan referred to the case law on fraud and talked about why it was different.

In other fraud cases involving charity victims, the perpetrators were jailed after using the fraudulently obtained money for “anti-social behaviour” such as drugs and gambling, he said.

“This is a mother asking for scholarship money for her daughters,” Cowan said.

He said Manji, while living in Iqaluit in the 1990s, had a “pro-social” impact on the people of Nunavut and “sat as a parent” to the Noah family.

But the members of the Noah family shook their heads in response.

Manji offered his apologies.

“I am deeply sorry for what I have caused,” she said. “I will accept any sentence you give me with grace and dignity.”

Manocchio said he will hand down his sentence Thursday.

But the judge revoked Manji’s bail.

“The accused is no longer presumed innocent,” Manocchio said.

Manji was taken into custody at the end of the proceedings.

Leaving the yard, Noah said it was “a good day.”

“I’m glad he’s out on bail, he’s definitely going to get a sentence,” he said.

Jeff Pelletier is a local journalism initiative reporter for Nunatsiaq News. The local journalism initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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