A Ghanaian national has been sentenced to two years in prison in Canada after using a fraudulently obtained Canadian passport to leave and re-enter the country 16 times.
Jefferson Zormelo pleaded guilty in July to violating the Canadian Citizenship Act by using an unlawfully issued citizenship document.
Justice Karen Molle imposed the sentence at Calgary Court of Justice on Monday, November 9. Taking pre-trial custody into account, Zormelo has about 14 months remaining to serve.
According to an agreed statement of facts reported by CBC News and the Calgary Herald, Zormelo entered Canada legally on a study permit in 2021.
In 2024, however, authorities discovered that he was no longer enrolled in school and issued an exclusion order. The order required him to leave Canada immediately and remain outside the country for at least 12 months.
Rather than comply, Zormelo obtained false identification and fraudulent proof of Canadian citizenship in the name of Mitchell Leblanc. He then used those documents to secure a Canadian passport in December 2024.
From February 2025 to March 2026, Zormelo travelled on the Leblanc passport 16 times, flying out of and back into Canada through international airports in Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. Investigators found no evidence explaining how he paid for the journeys.
His use of the false identity came to light after officers from the Canada Border Services Agency arrested him in Calgary on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
Zormelo had presented a fake Canadian permanent resident card bearing the Leblanc name at the United States Consulate. His fingerprints matched records from his entry into Canada in 2021, while a search of a hotel room led investigators to the passport.
Crown prosecutor Tyler Lord had asked the court to impose a five-year prison sentence. Defence lawyer Devin Frank, meanwhile, had sought a term equivalent to the time Zormelo had already spent in custody.
Frank told the court that Zormelo had acted out of desperation to live and work in Canada after growing up in poverty and experiencing abuse in Ghana.
Justice Molle rejected the request for time served, saying the case involved much more than a breach of an exclusion order.
She described the fraud as “sophisticated, elaborate” and said it “attacks the integrity of the Canadian citizenship regime”.
“This is a serious offence, it’s not a victimless crime,” Molle said. “The offence jeopardized public safety and our national security.”
The sentencing comes after recent Ghana–Canada talks on emerging security challenges. It also coincides with an investigation by Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor into alleged passport irregularities in the country.
