On paper, Ameen Cohen is a 37-year-old banking professional with a business diploma and an apartment in Thornhill, Ont.
But it’s just his latest identity.
At the Toronto deportation hearing, the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) revealed that the Iranian citizen used at least three names during his life.
He arrived in Canada as Amin Yousefi and was Amin Riki before. It was also turned out to have been a lieutenant of the Tehran police during his mandatory military service.
CBSA officials said that he legally changed his name to Cohen in Ontario 2022 – without detecting that he was convicted In the US, to help Iran to avoid sanctions.
New details about his evolutionary identity appeared last week in Immigration Committee and Refugees Hearing that will decide whether to send it back to Iran.
Canadian immigration officials want to deport it on the basis of their role in the scheme of eliminating sanctions on Iranian sanctions makes it a threat of national security.
By illegally shipping sensitive equipment in Iran, he undermined the efforts of Canada to contain the dangers of the Islamic republic represented, CBSA claimed.
The Toront resident has contributed to “the increased security threat of Canada in terms of terrorism and nuclear weapons attack,” the CBSA report states.
His actions “directly threatened” the external policy of the Canadian government on the Iranian authoritarian regime, which runs the “axis of resistance”, which includes Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemensa Houtis.
The case comes because the federal government is under pressure to prevent members and supporters of the repressive Iranian regime to use Canada as Safe refuge.
AMIN YOSEFIJAJ Out of IRB Office, Etobicokeu, Ont., February 26 2025.
Global news
At the hearing, he testified that Amin Riki was born, but he legally changed his name to Amin Yousefi in Iran before he arrived in Canada in 2016.
When asked by CBSA if he did it to hide from the past, he replied, “That’s your opinion.”
He said he simply did not like the way Riki sounded, and the Yousefi was “the name that echoed with me the most.”
As a YESEFI, he was arrested in Toronto in January 2021. Let’s charge us stating that he delivered sensitive goods to Iran, violating sanctions.
He was detained in Canada for 10 months before being transported to Michigan, where he spent more than a month in custody, he admitted guilt and convicted on time served.
Asked by CBSA, whether he is aware that the confession of guilt means to acknowledge his role in the plot, he said he was just guilty of guilt because it was the fastest way to get rid of it.
“That was not a recognition of guilt,” he insisted.
After his belief in November 2021, the Yosefi was returned to Ontario, where he almost immediately applied to change his name to Ameen Cohen.
On his name for changing the name in Ontario, he marked the framework “No” in response to the questions asking whether there were a criminal file in Canada or elsewhere, CBSA said.
The Yousefija testified that he called the Ontario information line and was told that only judgments must be discovered in Canada. He said he recently checked again and received the same answer.
After testimony, however, Global News also called the government of Ontario, but was told that the beliefs had to be discovered no matter where they had happened.
“The publication of criminal verdicts and in Canada and other jurisdictions is required,” Joey Wu confirmed, the Ministry of Public and Spokeswoman for the provision of business services.
The name change form warns the applicants that “a serious crime within the criminal law in Canada is a false statement.”
The Yousefija denied that he was trying to cover up his past and claimed that he only changed his name because his last name was too long and caused him prejudice.
He said he chose the name Cohen because he also had English and Persian root. “That was the personal decision I made,” he said. “I chose the name that echoed with me the most.”
His brother Arash Yousefi He was also convicted in a conspiracy of sanctions and changed his name to Aurash Cohen. Said Global News that he did this because “we want to start a new life.”
Under the name Aurash Cohen became a dentist in Ontario but was demolished Last fall of his licenses because he needed to discover his criminal history “in any jurisdiction” in the dental register of the province.
The Ontario government said she was studying her name change system as a result of the brothers.
“The ability to change the name should not be a hole to avoid justice,” said a spokesman for the Minister responsible for the register of name changes.
“Allowing serious criminal offenders to cover up their identity not only to undermine the integrity of our judicial system, but it is a significant risk for our communities.”
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listens to the National Anthem as Salute Air Force Officers, Tehran, Iran, February 7, 2025 (Office of the Iranian supreme leader via AP).
Vs
CBSA presented its case against YESSEFIA during two days of hearing before a member of the Refugee Committee who will decide whether to issue a deportation order.
Responding to the questions asked by two CBSA officials, the Youssefija said he became involved in the sanction scheme at the request of his brother GapA naturalized Canadian born in Iran, who described as a conspiracy leader.
He said his brother was married and busy at the time and asked Yousefi to take over the logistical side of the surgery. “He asked me to find a good price, basically, a shipper,” he said.
He was close to his brother and considered it a “family obligation to help him,” he said. But later he said he did not know where his brother lives now, and they only talked through video chats.
The Yousefija denied that he knew any operational details and said his role was limited to the sending of E -Mailov, first while living in Iran and later in Canada, after reaching a visa for a permanent resident.
The materials were initially shipped to the United Arab Emirates and were then repacked to transport to Iran – tactical CBSA officials said they were usually used to avoid sanctions.
While there is a MBA, the Yousefija said he was not familiar with international regulations on sanctions and money laundering until he started the 2018 banking job.
The IRB was expected to rule its deportation this summer.
Image of Mahsa Amina’s flag on the rallies against Iran’s regime, in Washington, October 2, 2022 (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana).
Canada has launched the suppression of Iran in 2022 in response to the suppression of protests of the regime that broke out during arrest and killing Mahsa aminawhich was targeted because she showed her hair in public.
In order to press Tehran, the government banned high Iranian officials and members of the Islamic Revolution Corps from the country while promising to deport those who are already here.
Since then, CBSA has identified 18 alleged high Iranian officials living in Canada. IRB has so far issued a deportation command, from them, Seyed Salman Samani and Majid Iranmananesh.
But the IRB refused to throw out two others, and CBSA pulled its case to another, Elham Zandisaid the clerk on Monday.
Neither IRB nor CBs would explain why.
In her 28 January report On a foreign interference, Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue wrote that community members had told Iranian officials “live open and freely in Canada.”
Iranian regime “wants to influence Canada because there is a great and well -educated Iranian diaspora,” said the witness, whose name was not published, he told the investigation.
