A Canadian woman was sentenced to prison for falsely claiming her daughters were Inuit to obtain scholarships and business grants.
Karima Manji was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty in February to one count of fraud over $5,000, according to reports. The Canadian Press.
The woman fraudulently completed forms declaring that her twin daughters, Amira and Nadya Gill, were Inuit girls in order to receive Nunavut land claim benefits through Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
Manji’s sentencing is the first of its kind in Canada for a “pretender,” meaning a person who falsely claims to have an Indigenous identity.
“This is an egregious example of exploitation of Indigenous people,” said the judge who sentenced Manji, Nunavut Justice Mia Manocchio.
Karima Manji was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to falsely claiming her twin daughters were Inuit.
Manji filled out forms claiming that her twin daughters, Amira and Nadya Gill (pictured), were Inuit children so they could receive benefits from the Nunavut land claim.
‘Ms Manji’s case should serve as a signal to any future Indigenous applicant that false appropriation of Indigenous identity in a criminal context will carry significant penalty.’
Manji claimed that her children were the biological daughters of Inuit woman Kitty Noah and that she had adopted them.
Once the Gill twins enrolled in the benefits program, the sisters received more than $158,000 in total from two organizations, according to court records.
“Judge Manocchio set a precedent with her ruling today, making it clear to potential scammers that Indigenous identity theft will not be tolerated,” NTI President Aluki Kotierk said in a statement.
The sisters won scholarships and grants for their online business selling COVID masks and regularly advertised the brand as Inuit-owned.
They were initially charged with fraud, but were dropped once their mother pleaded guilty.
Manji returned $130,000 of the money and was ordered to repay the remaining balance.
Noah Noah, Kitty Noah’s son, told CBC He was relieved by the sentence after his mother died last year.
Once the Gill twins enrolled in the benefits program, the sisters received more than $158,000 in total from two organizations.
Manji claimed that her daughters (pictured) were the biological daughters of Inuit woman Kitty Noah and that she had adopted them.
“I didn’t think she (Manji) would get anything more than two years less a day, so I’m very pleased with the result,” Noah.
‘I feel better knowing that this is a message sent to anyone who is trying to defraud Indigenous, Inuit and First Nations people. It’s a good day.’
Manji’s lawyer, Scott Cowan, said the sentence was “far higher than most people in similar situations” and that his client was being used as an example.
“The unique factors of this case led the judge to hand down an exemplary sentence,” Cowan said.
“The only answer, based on the entire sentence, is that it was to set an example.”