Driving School Operators Charged With Commercial Licencing Fraud In Ontario & Quebec
Students were also committing fraudulent activities to obtain a commercial vehicle licence.
Ontario Provincial Police vehicle.
Six people, who range in age from 33 to 68, have been charged with fraud for their alleged involvement in an illegal commercial motor vehicle licencing scheme.
On May 18, the criminal investigation branch of the Ontario Provincial Police reported that an investigation revealed individuals were involved in fraudulent licensing activities, including attempts to licence non-Ontario residents with an Ontario commercial motor vehicle licence.
The fraud scheme included using interpreters to complete knowledge tests, having individuals apply for licences outside of their province, and efforts were made to bypass the Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) standard.
Students were found to have violated training standards 200 times in order to get a commercial vehicle licence, investigators say.
Another fraud scheme involved unlicenced schools, which were operating in both eastern Ontario and Quebec, that were using unauthorized training.
Six individuals were charged including Gurvinder Singh, 55; Gurpreeet Singh, 33; Mohammad Khokhar, 66; Hanifa Khokhar, 68; Jagjeet Deol, 50; and Charanjit Kaur Deol, 50. They have all been charged with fraud over $5,000 and were found to be in violation of section 380(1) of the Criminal Code.
The news follows a two-year investigation involving the joint efforts of the Ontario Provincial Police and Quebec’s provincial police, Sûreté du Québec. The provincial police for Ontario and Quebec were first notified of the illegal activities in March of 2019.
"The focus of this lengthy investigation has been public safety," said Daniel Nadeau, Detective Inspector for the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch in a press release. "Tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles can be deadly in the hands of those with little or unapproved training."
In a press release, the Ontario Provincial Police said that the individuals "circumvented the processes of the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Colleges and Universities."
Police say that the individuals' actions significantly impacted the safety of Canadian highways. As a result of the investigation, six commercial motor vehicles have also been seized.
The charged individuals are no longer in custody and will appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Ottawa.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.