Jefferson Zormelo, has been sentenced to two years in prison in Canada
A 22-year-old Ghanaian, Jefferson Zormelo, has been sentenced to two years in prison in Canada after using a fake Canadian passport to travel into and out of the country 16 times.
Zormelo pleaded guilty earlier this year to an offence under the Canadian Citizenship Act. He was sentenced on Monday, November 9, 2026, by Justice Karen Molle in Calgary, Alberta.
According to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the judge said his actions had weakened the integrity of Canada’s citizenship system.
She warned that using a fraudulent Canadian passport could put public safety and national security at risk while damaging the country’s reputation internationally.
After accounting for the time he has already spent in custody since his arrest, Zormelo has about 14 months remaining on his prison sentence.
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Zormelo moved to Canada in 2021 on a study permit. However, immigration officials discovered in 2024 that he was no longer attending school and issued an exclusion order for his removal from the country.
Court documents showed that he later obtained several identification documents, including proof of Canadian citizenship, using a false identity.
He subsequently acquired a Canadian passport in December 2024 under the name Mitchell Leblanc.
For the next 15 months, Zormelo used the passport to make 16 trips into and out of Canada through international airports in Montreal, Toronto and Halifax.
His activities were uncovered in April 2026 when officers of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) arrested him in Calgary.
The arrest followed an incident in which he presented a fake permanent resident card bearing the Leblanc identity to officials at the United States Consulate.
A search of his hotel room after his arrest led to the discovery of the fraudulent Canadian passport and other items.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Tyler Lord asked the court to impose a five-year prison term on Zormelo.
However, his lawyer, Devin Frank, urged the judge to consider a sentence equal to the time he had already spent in custody.
The defence argued that Zormelo deserved leniency because of the difficult conditions he experienced while growing up in Ghana, including poverty and abuse.
In her ruling, Justice Molle accepted that Zormelo had been desperate to live and work in Canada. However, she said the seriousness of the offence and the level of planning involved were important factors that had to be considered.
She described the fraud as sophisticated and elaborate, warning that people who use their intelligence to carry out complex criminal activities could pose a serious danger to public safety.
“Clever criminals pose a greater risk to public safety,” she said.
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