Woman who lied to get twin daughters Inuit status sentenced to three years in prison

A woman who admitted to defrauding Inuit organizations of more than $158,000 for her twin daughters' education has been sentenced to three years in a federal prison.

Karima Manji was sentenced in an Iqaluit courtroom Thursday morning.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Manji filled out forms in 2016 to enrol her daughters as Inuit children so they could become beneficiaries of the Nunavut land claim through Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. In the forms, Manji said her daughters were born to the late Kitty Noah from Iqaluit. Manji claimed to be their adoptive mother.

Those applications were approved, granting the twins Inuit status and giving them access to organizations like Kakivak Association, which offers scholarships and business opportunities meant for Inuit.

Nunavut Justice Mia Manocchio rejected the 18-month sentence recommended by the Crown, saying "only a penitentiary term" will suffice.

Manocchio said Manji "victimized the Inuit of Nunavut by stealing their identity" and said her crime was "premeditated."

NTI investigated and removed Manji's twin daughers from the enrolment list in April 2023.

In his submissions earlier this week, Manji's lawyer Scott Cowan said Manji takes care of her three children, and makes minimum wage while working odd jobs.

Cowan had submitted that there were several mitigating factors in Manji's case, including the fact that she pleaded guilty and that she paid back a portion of the money.

Manocchio rejected that, saying the sole mitigating factor in Manji's case was her guilty plea.

"Ms. Manji has victimized her own children ...  her own daughters who have been severely compromised by her crimes," Manocchio said.

Manji has plaid back $130,000. Manocchio said she would also have to pay back the remaining $28,254 to the Kakivak Association in Nunavut.

"NTI is not the true or ultimate victim … the true victim of Ms. Manji's crime are the Inuit of Nunavut.

Manocchio said in considering Manji's sentence, she had to be mindful of the fact that she'd never served a prison sentence before.

Despite that, she said Manji's sentence should "serve as a signal" to others who pretend to be Indigenous for financial gain.

"Fraudsters pay attention to what happens to other fraudsters," she said.

Precedent-setting case

Anne Crawford, a longtime Iqaluit lawyer, said Manji's case could be the first of its kind in Canada.

"I think it's something we're going to have to start to talk about as a country. Inuit have a very distinct identity and we have very distinct processes in Nunavut for identifying Indigenous or Inuit citizens," Crawford said.

"The rest of Canada, it's not always that clear."