Convicted in U.S. of violating Iran sanctions, brothers adopt new identities in Ontario

Brothers convicted in the United States of helping Iran evade sanctions were allowed to legally adopt new identities in Ontario, records released to Global News show.

Amin and Arash Yousefijam were sentenced in Michigan in the fall of 2021 for using shell companies to illegally export sensitive manufacturing equipment to Iran, where they were born.

They then returned to Ontario, where they had lived prior to their arrests, and applied to change their names to Ameen and Aurash Cohen. The province granted their requests in April 2022.

At the time they altered their identities, they were still serving out part of their sentences — a one-year period of supervised release, a form of parole, government records show.

Using his new name, Arash Yousefijam, 36, became a registered dentist and went to work in Ottawa as Dr. Aurash Cohen. The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario declined to answer questions about him.

Meanwhile, his brother, 37, took a job as a compliance officer at an international company in Richmond Hill, Ont. Property records show an Ameen Cohen bought a home in the city in 2022.

The province issued Amin Yousefijam’s name change certificate although he was not a Canadian citizen and the Canada Border Services Agency was in the process of deporting him for dodging sanctions on Iran.

The Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement, which oversees name changes, has not yet responded to questions about the matter.

Under Ontario law, those applying to change their names must provide details of their criminal convictions, and cannot seek new identities for an “improper purpose.”

Despite his new moniker, Amin Yousefijam did not elude the CBSA, which has now sent his case to the Immigration and Refugee Board for a deportation order.

Hearings to decide whether he should be deported are to begin on Oct. 28. His lawyers tried to ban the press from the proceedings, but Global News fought the application and won.

His lawyers declined to comment. Citing privacy, the CBSA would also not comment, but the brothers’ name change certificates were publicly released by the IRB at his deportation case.

As a naturalized Canadian citizen, his brother Arash cannot be deported. Reached by Global News, Arash said the duo legally changed their names because “we want to start a new life.”

“It’s just some legal issues that I had and they got resolved and I’m back,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m a Canadian citizen, I paid my dues, I just got time served, I returned to Canada.”

He said it was not right that immigration authorities were trying to deport his brother when both were convicted. “It is definitely not fair because I’m not having any consequences but he is.”

Exhibits filed by the CBSA in the deportation case show immigration enforcement officials are alleging that Amin Yousefijam undermined Canada’s efforts to contain the threat posed by the Iranian regime.

A banking industry veteran with an MBA degree, he contributed to “an increased security threat towards Canada in regards to terrorism and attack by nuclear weapons,” CBSA wrote in its report.

“Mr. Yousefijam’s activities directly compromised the efforts of the Canadian government with respect to its foreign policy goals vis-a-vis Iran.”

With Iran and Israel edging toward war, the case is a test of how Canada responds to a foreign citizen on its soil who violated the sanctions meant to keep the Islamic Republic in check.

Canadian immigration authorities are currently attempting to deport more than a dozen alleged senior members of the Iranian regime caught living in the country.

But the Yousefijam case is different: it is about the enforcement of the sanctions that have become Canada’s primary tool against Iran’s attempt to spread instability in the Middle East.

Iran’s “axis of resistance” includes terror groups Hamas, which carried out the Oct. 7 attack, the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis, who have disrupted global shipping.

To build its military strength and nuclear programs, Iran has relied on an international supply network that circumvents the sanctions meant to reduce its threat to the region.

A CBSA report filed in support of Yousefijam’s deportation said Canada was among the countries Iran was using to acquire dual-use technologies with military applications.

Canada is an attractive location for Iran to do so because of its proximity to the U.S. and “established trade agreements facilitating the movement of goods,” it said.

“In this respect, Canada is a strategic country for Iranian front and shell companies to establish themselves,” the CBSA wrote in its case against Yousefijam.

Prof. Jessica Davis, an expert on national security and illicit financing, said sanctions were in place to create a safer global financial system and reduce threats to Canada and its allies.

“So anyone involved in undermining those processes is, by extension, undermining global security and Canadian security,” said Davis, president of Insight Threat Intelligence.

The former Canadian Security Intelligence Service analyst said it was “very common” for the U.S. to prosecute such cases because it acts as an enforcer of financial regulations around the world.

“Canada hasn’t historically had a good track record in terms of detecting and disrupting sanctions evasion activity,” she said.

“This has been something of an underfunded and understaffed function within a number of different organizations.”

She said she was struck that, following his conviction, Yousefijam continued to work as a compliance officer, a job that involves detecting and reporting suspicious activity such as sanctions evasion.

“To have someone employed in that capacity who has a criminal conviction for sanctions evasion, I think raises a lot of questions.”

Yousefijam argued in his written response to the allegations that his involvement in the scheme was minimal and that he did not represent a security threat.

He said he had worked for several banks, including RBC, hoped to become a vice-president in the banking industry, and had applied to dental school.

Deporting him would be “unjust” and “devastating” to his career and personal life, he said, explaining he had met “the love of my life.”

“I humbly ask for your compassion and for the opportunity to continue to contribute to Canadian society,” he wrote.

Beginning in 2015, Amin Yousefijam, Arash and a third conspirator in Iran, Abdollah Momeni Roustani, used a shell company, Austin General Trading, to run what is known as a “cross-stuffing” scheme.

They approached U.S. manufacturers to purchase and export materials restricted by sanctions put in place in response to Iran’s nuclear and weapons programs, role in terrorism and human rights abuses.

To hide that Iran was the true destination of the exports, they made the purchases with accounts at banks located in foreign countries, Yousefijam admitted in his plea agreement.

The shipments were transported to the United Arab Emirates, where they were taken out of their containers and illicitly re-shipped to Iran. The ploy is also known as transshipping.

Yousefijam played a “significant role” in the plot, which continued after he arrived in Canada eight years ago, according to the CBSA allegations.

He was “primarily responsible for negotiating and arranging the shipping logistics,” while his brother handled price negotiations, the CBSA wrote in its report.

“Money laundering was another method allegedly used by the co-conspirators to dodge U.S. sanctions against Iran,” the agency wrote.

Canadian officials noted that both brothers had worked as money-laundering investigators and that Yousefijam was a bank compliance officer.

“Thus the use of money laundering by the co-conspirators adds to the danger posed to the security of Canada,” the agency wrote.

The U.S. filed a sealed indictment against the Yousefijams in April 2020. Eight months later, Arash took a flight from Toronto to North Carolina, where he was arrested.

Acting on a U.S. extradition request, the Toronto Police Fugitive Squad arrested Amin Yousefijam on Jan. 21, 2021.

Both brothers pleaded guilty to what the U.S. called “deeply disturbing” allegations. Prosecutors asked for a “significant sentence of imprisonment” for Yousefijam.

“The defendant’s knowing and intentional conduct here undermined the U.S. sanctions regime and threatened the security of the United States by supporting a state sponsor of terrorism,” they argued.

Both were sentenced to time served, plus a year of supervised released. U.S. immigration authorities then removed them back to Canada.

After they changed their names, Yousefijam wrote to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada asking for a new permanent resident’s card as Ameen Cohen, records show.

“I am excited about the prospect of fully integrating into Canadian society and making a positive contribution to this great country,” he wrote.

But a CBSA investigation recommended deporting him, and noted he was living in Canada when he organized one of the illicit shipments to Iran.

He “actively participated in a conspiracy utilizing a clandestine procurement and shipping network, whose purpose was to circumvent U.S. sanctions to the benefit of Iran,” the agency wrote.

“The purpose of these sanctions is based on national security goals, including being a response to state-sponsored terrorism and human rights abuses, and most notably, to restrict the ability of Iran to develop nuclear weapons,” the CBSA wrote.

In written responses he sent to the CBSA, Yousefijam described his role in the illicit exports as “minimal” and said he had learned from the experience.

“I only forwarded a few emails at the request of my brother,” he wrote in his submissions to immigration enforcement authorities.

He said he had no intention of undermining Canadian security and had withdrawn from the scheme voluntarily and cooperated with U.S. authorities.

“As a permanent resident of Canada, I feel deeply remorseful for my involvement in the scheme that led to my conviction in the United States,” he wrote.

He said he had sought counseling and therapy “to help me understand and address the underlying issues that contributed to my involvement in this scheme.”

“Since returning to Canada in November 2021, I have secured a respectable job and have fully integrated into society,” he wrote.

He said he had been building a career in the banking industry and had applied to dental schools in Toronto, London and Montreal.

“I have demonstrated that I am committed to living a responsible and productive life and contributing positively to society.”

During the pandemic, he was living with his fiancé and “cannot picture my future without her,” he wrote. If he was deported, “the depression I would undergo would be deadly.”

He also felt it would be unfair to deport him while his brother “faces no consequences” from Canadian immigration because he is a citizen.

But the CBSA was not moved by his statement.

“The seriousness of the allegations against him and the interests of the Canadian public far outweigh the potential difficulties which may arise should the subject be removed from Canada,” the agency wrote.

On Sept. 10, Yousefijam sat in a hearing room at the Immigration and Refugee Board offices in Toronto’s Rexdale neighbourhood.

The IRB imposed a publication ban on some details about his brother. The case will decide whether a deportation order should be issued.

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