Carl Benito

Carl Benito (born February 21, 1954) was an Edmonton politician who was elected member to the 27th Alberta Legislature representing the electoral district of Edmonton-Mill Woods.

The Canada Border Services Agency raided the home and office of former Alberta Progressive Conservative MLA Carl Benito, seizing more than $250,000 in cash — mostly in bundles of $100 bills — as part of an investigation into what the agency says was a three-year immigration fraud scheme. Search warrant documents obtained by CBC News show CBSA officials believed that since Nov. 11, 2015, Benito, now an immigration consultant, had counselled dozens of Filipino immigrants to improperly extend their stay in Alberta through a scheme that involved bogus applications for study and work-extension permits.

Authority to execute the warrant was granted on June 27 following an application by border officials that outlined three-years worth of suspected fraudulent activities conducted through the operations of Carl Benito and his son Charles Benito in immigration consultancy businesses Triple Maple Leaf Canada, World Immigration Group, and Helping Migrants Canadian Immigration Group.

The investigator who filed the 34-page information to obtain a search warrant that was approved by a judge on June 27, alleges that between Nov. 11, 2015 up to when the warrant was executed, Benito advised a number of immigrants whose work permits were about to expire to use fraudulent means to extend their stays in Canada.

It's alleged he counselled people to complete and submit study permit applications with no intention of actually attending school, while benefiting from the ability to work 20 hours per week. He is also alleged to have provided his clients with one-day loans of $17,000 so they could prove they met the financial criteria needed to be approved for a study permit.

Benito is also alleged to have encouraged clients to intentionally make errors while applying for work permit extension, which gives the client "implied status," allowing them to prolong their stay in Canada.

View this document on Scribd According to the court documents, investigators began their probe in March, interviewing clients, following leads with educational institutions, examining the businesses websites and conducting surveillance.

Investigators waited outside the Benito residence in hopes of conducting a "garbage pull" on April 18, but because the trash was not brought to the curb they weren't successful.

Instead, they allege they were able to track Charles Benito to the Helping Migrants office in a conference room at Ramada Hotel Edmonton South at 5359 Calgary Trail. An officer who attended the office reported that the space had no document storage, which led them to believe all documents were being stored at the Benitos' residence.

Benito was the PC MLA for Mill Woods from 2008 to 2012.

Attempts to speak with both Carl Benito and Charles Benito were unsuccessful. On Friday morning, two calls to a number associated with the family were disconnected after a Postmedia reporter identified themselves.

Emails sent Friday to accounts associated with the businesses and the Benitos received no response or were returned as undeliverable.

Election results

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