Hamilton man fined more than $115K for fraudulent child tax benefit claims
'Tax evasion is a crime,' warns the CRA
A Hamilton man has pleaded guilty to fabricating birth certificates and sending in false school and medical records in order to fraudulently claim more than $230,000 in child tax benefits.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced in a media release Wednesday that on April 3 Edwin Woghiren was sentenced to a one year conditional sentence and fined $115,673 after being charged with creating and submitting false Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) applications.
Citing court documents, the CRA says Woghiren sent in fake birth certificates, along with false medical, school and landlord records, including letters and receipts on behalf of him and his spouse, despite knowing "the children either do not exist or have never entered Canada."
A total of $231,345 in false CCTB was claimed, with $137,887 received between May 20, 2011, and February 20, 2013, before the fraudulent claims were discovered, according to the CRA.
"Tax evasion is a crime," reads the CRA's statement. "Cheating on your taxes affects the services and programs we all rely on to improve our quality of life."