Fake Trucking school court case scheduled to begin August 16
After waits and delays amounting to 16 months, the trial scheduled for several men charged with operating fake Trucking schools is expected to begin this morning, August 16th.
However, as has been seen in past sessions, delays requested by counsel for the accused men resulted in postponement to new dates. On June 7th, when defendents’ counsel and the crown attorney L. Welch presented before the justice, August 15th was selected as the start date for the trial; however, on August 14th, Road Warrior News was informed by court staff that the start date is now August 16th.
Court proceedings have been ongoing for more than a year since the charges were laid. When another delay was requested at the May 24th, 2023 proceedings, Crown Attorney L. Welch noted, “This file is already pretty old.”
Also noted during the May 24th proceedings was the fact that the paralegal speaking for one of the Deol family (Jagjeet or Charanjit) was not certain which of the two men was her client.
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On May 18th, 2022, Quebec’s Economic Crimes Investigation Service, in collaboration with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), arrested 6 individuals from Montreal, Laval and Brampton, Ontario in connection with the production and the use of false documents. The documents allowed foreign clients to obtain driver’s licenses, including licenses to drive heavy goods vehicles.
The suspects allowed their foreign clients to obtain a class 5 (passenger vehicle) and possibly a class 1 (heavy goods vehicle) driver’s license from the SAAQ, using falsified documents.
Another scheme that was uncovered involved individuals operating unlicensed schools and delivering unauthorized training to students in Ontario and Quebec.
Gurvinder Singh, 55, of Laval, Que.; Gurpreet Singh, 33, of Saint Eustache, Que.; Mohammad Khokhar, 66, of Cornwall, Ont.; Jagjeet Deol, 50, of Caledon; Charanjit Kaur Deol, 50, of Caledon; and Hanifa Khokhar, 68, of Cornwall, Ont., were charged with fraud over $5,000.
“The focus of this lengthy investigation has been public safety,” said Detective Inspector Daniel Nadeau with the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch. “Tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles can be deadly in the hands of those with little or unapproved training.”
The investigation focused on fraudulent licensing activities, which circumvented the processes of the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Colleges and Universities.
According to Canada.com, the OPP’s investigation revealed three major components of a serious fraudulent scheme, significantly impacting the safety of Canadian highways:
- use of an interpreter to fraudulently complete required licensing knowledge tests
- non-Ontario residents applying for an Ontario driver’s licence
- circumvention of the Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) standard
The operation stems from an investigation initiated following information provided to the police by the Société d’Assurance Automobile du Québec (SAAQ) and the Canada Border Services Agency (ASFC), mobilized police officers from the Sûreté du Québec and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
The investigation carried out by the Financial Crime Investigation Division of the Sûreté du Québec led to the filing of charges against people who operated mainly in the regions of Montreal, Laval and the Ontario border with Quebec. The suspects first appeared in court on May 18th, 2022.
