A Toronto woman, Imelda Fronda Saluma, was recently arrested for immigration fraud. Ms. Saluma worked with over 600 Filipino immigrants and scammed them into an illegal scheme, promising immigration benefits they could not obtain and collecting more than $2.3 million dollars. The intimate community of Filipino immigrants were all referred to Imelda “Mel” Saluma by members of their own community. These unfortunate victims unwittingly and blindly placed their confidence her due to their commonly shared Filipino background. Ms. Saluma, a mother of four, in her mid-40s, was considered a reliable citizen and “one of their own” whom they trusted. Ms. Saluma was arrested and charged with 73 offenses for allegedly selling fraudulent employment documents to foreign nationals in order for them to enter the country illegally. Presently she remains behind bars while the outcome of her case is determined.

Ms. Saluma used the social website Facebook to promote her illegal business called GoWest, featuring pictures of smiling Filipino farm workers, supposedly gainfully and legally employed.

One client claims she paid more than $24,500 in cash to Ms. Saluma in order to bring several relatives to Canada in August 2012. The amount of money that families lost is immeasurable, wiping out entire life savings in some cases and leaving others destitute. Families from countries ranging from the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom were all victims of the scam. They all believed they would be able to obtain lawful employment and ultimately permanent residency in Canada. The price they were charged was a whopping $5000.00 per applicant. Ms. Saluma also accepted only cash as a form of payment.

Finally several victims formed an online site, voicing their complaints about their dealings with Saluma. Once it was discovered just how many of them had been scammed, they formed an alliance and filed a complaint with the police.

The GoWest Corporation had been under investigation since 2012 but the participants may have been operating under another name prior to then. Investigators have not found any visa petitions that were successfully filed or issued. The GoWest company moved its location in 2013 and was finally shut down in 2014. Tenants that shared space in the same building as GoWest occupied were also victims of the same scam. One neighbor paid more than $32,000.00 to GoWest in order to petition for several family members outside of the country.

Apparently, Ms. Saluma had hired “recruiters” who found clients for her and convinced them to place their trust and money with her. The recruiters confessed to being paid a “finder’s fee” of $150.00 per person but claim to have no knowledge of the fraudulent document scam. Ms. Saluma may also have been involved in a check cashing scheme that may have overlapped with her immigration “business.”

Because this scam was on such a grandiose scale, her illegal activities were eventually detected and put to an end. However, the victims of the fraud have little to no hope of recovering the money they spent on a false dream. It is essential that anyone seeking the help of an immigration attorney conduct due diligence and fully research the firm or attorney they wish to retain.