For Immediate Release
(June 27, 2024 – Iqaluit, Nunavut) Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) welcomes Karima Manji’s 36-month sentence, to be served in federal penitentiary, for Inuit Identity fraud handed down by Justice Mia Manocchio today in the Nunavut Court of Justice.
“The court sent a strong message with Karima Manji’s sentence today, that Indigenous identity theft is a serious crime deserving of equally serious consequences,” said NTI President Aluki Kotierk. “Justice Manocchio set a precedent with her ruling today, making it clear to potential fraudsters that Indigenous identity theft will not be tolerated. She noted that the true victims for her crime were the Inuit of Nunavut, of which NTI is the representative organization. NTI could not agree more, and we hope this sentence will act as a strong deterrence against any future Indigenous identity fraud.”
This is the first known enrolment fraud case in Nunavut. It is also the first time a criminal has been sentenced to incarceration for the crime in Nunavut. Along with the 3-year sentence, Karima Manji was given a stand-alone restitution order to repay the remaining amount owning to Kakivak Association of $28,254.05.
Although Karima Manji’s crime has forced NTI to implement extra layers of safeguards in the enrolment process under the Nunavut Agreement, we remain confident in the Community Enrollment Committees’ knowledge of their own communities, through the close-knit nature of Inuit communities to prevent Inuit identity fraud in the future.
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Media Contact:
Ivaluarjuk Merritt
Director of Communications
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
