Singh and Singh plead “not guilty” in Trucking school case
Six weeks of court time scheduled for jury trial
The fake Trucking schools criminal case has been allotted six weeks of court time for a jury trial which began on November 12thin Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice (SCJ).
Gurvinder Singh, 55, of Laval, Que.; Gurpreet Singh, 33, of Saint Eustache, Quebec are charged with fraud over $5,000 and document forgery.
Jury selection commenced under the authority of the Honourable Justice Pierre E. Roger on November 12, with approximately 80 potential jurors present in Court Room 37 of the Ottawa Court House. 12 jurors and two alternate jurors were to be selected.
Justice Roger informed potential jurors that six weeks of court time has been scheduled for the trial, expected to run from approximately 10am to 4:30pm daily during this time. Although reference was made to Road Warrior News’ request the trial be made available by videoconference, Justice Roger dealt with the request quickly and announced there would be no Zoom coverage.
“We hope to be wrapped up before the holidays start, however, you need to be aware that if there are delays or other circumstances, we could run over into January,” he told those present.
The first item of business before jury selection could begin was the swearing in of the two interpreters who will interpret all court proceedings from English to Punjabi for defendants Gurvinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh. Both Singhs communicated with their legal counsel in French on November 12.
Charges of fraud over $5,000 and document forgery were read out loud; both Gurvinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh pled “not guilty” to the charges.
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.
In two of the cases, the accused pled guilty and were sentenced. On June 21, 2022, accused Hanifa Khokhar pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over. On the same date, the accused received a conditional sentence for 2 years less a day and probation for 12 months. The remaining counts were withdrawn.
On June 21, 2022, accused Mohammad Khokhar pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over. On the same date, the accused received a conditional sentence for 18 months and probation for 12 months. The remaining counts were withdrawn.
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.
