Jefferson Zormelo, 22, pleaded guilty earlier this year to violating the Canadian Citizenship Act.

On Monday in Calgary, Justice Karen Molle said Zormelo’s act attacks the integrity of the Canadian citizenship regime.

The offence jeopardized public safety and our national security, noted Molle. Fraudulent use of Canadian passports affects Canada’s international reputation.

With credit for the time he’s served since his arrest, Zormelo has about 14 months left behind bars.

Used airports in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax

Zormelo came to Canada on a study permit in 2021.

In 2024, when authorities determined he was no longer enrolled in school, an exclusion order was issued for his removal from the country, according to an agreed statement of facts filed as part of the guilty plea.

He then obtained identification documents, including a proof of citizenship under a false name, and used that to get a Canadian passport, which was issued under the name Mitchell Leblanc in December 2024.

Over the next 15 months, Zormelo then entered and exited Canada through Montreal’s, Toronto’s and Halifax’s international airports using the Leblanc passport a total of 16 times.

In April 2026, he was arrested by Canada Border Services Agency officers in Calgary after presenting a fake permanent residency card in the Leblanc name to officials at the U.S. Consulate.

Officers then searched Zormelo’s hotel room and discovered, among other things, the fraudulent passport.

‘Clever criminals pose a greater risk’

Prosecutor Tyler Lord had sought a five-year prison sentence.

Defence lawyer Devin Frank asked the court to consider a time-served sentence of nine months in jail, arguing his client experienced a difficult upbringing in Ghana, which involved poverty and abuse.

The judge noted Zormelo was desperate to live and work in Canada.

• Government abruptly suspends citizenship certificates issued under ‘lost Canadians’ law (new window)

In the end, Molle outlined a number of aggravating factors, including the fact that Zormelo used his intellect to commit the sophisticated, elaborate fraud.

Clever criminals pose a greater risk to public safety, said Molle.