Jefferson Zormelo used a Canadian passport issued under the alias Mitchell Leblanc to fly in and out of Toronto, Montreal and Halifax after a removal order.

Published 10 Nov 2026, 15:53 GMT

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A Canadian passport cover — A Canadian passport (file photo)

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A court in Calgary has sentenced a Ghanaian national, Jefferson Zormelo, to two years in prison for using a fraudulently obtained Canadian passport to leave and re-enter Canada 16 times.

Delivering sentence at the Calgary Court of Justice on Monday, November 9, Justice Karen Molle ruled that Zormelo, who pleaded guilty in July to violating the Canadian Citizenship Act by using an unlawfully issued citizenship document, has about 14 months left to serve after credit for pre-trial custody.

According to an agreed statement of facts reported by CBC News and the Calgary Herald, Zormelo entered Canada lawfully on a study permit in 2021, but authorities issued an exclusion order in 2024 after discovering he was no longer enrolled in school.

Instead of complying with the removal order—which required him to leave Canada immediately and stay out for at least 12 months—Zormelo acquired false identification and fraudulent proof of Canadian citizenship under the alias Mitchell Leblanc to obtain a Canadian passport in December 2024.

Between February 2025 and March 2026, he used the Leblanc passport 16 times to fly out of and back into Canada through international airports in Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, though investigators found no evidence of how he funded the trips.

Officers from the Canada Border Services Agency arrested him in Calgary on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 after he presented a fake Canadian permanent resident card in the Leblanc name at the United States Consulate, where fingerprints matched his 2021 entry records and a hotel search uncovered the passport.

Crown prosecutor Tyler Lord had sought a five-year prison sentence, while defence lawyer Devin Frank asked for a time-served term, telling the court Zormelo acted out of desperation to live and work in Canada after an impoverished and abusive upbringing in Ghana.

Justice Molle rejected the time-served request, ruling that the "sophisticated, elaborate" fraud was far more serious than simply breaching an exclusion order and "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."

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Ghanaian jailed two years in Canada for using fraudulent passport 16 times

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