After 10 years outside of Canada, a Toronto-area tax preparer is convicted and sentenced for making fake charitable donations claims

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that John Oladapo Oladehinde of Brampton, Ontario, pleaded guilty on June 26, 2020, in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto, Ontario, to one count of fraud over $5,000, under the Criminal Code. Oladehinde was sentenced to a conditional sentence of two years less a day and was ordered to pay a fine of $412,306.

A CRA investigation revealed that Oladehinde operated a tax preparation business in Toronto, Ontario, under his corporation Dehinde & Associates International Inc. Oladehinde, acting in his capacity as a director and officer, prepared and filed 1,427 individual income tax returns between 2001 and 2005 using false charitable donation claims amounting to $13 million. As a result of these fictitious donations, the CRA issued income tax refunds or did not assess taxes payable in the amount of $3.9 million. During this period, Oladehinde continued to charge his clients for these fictitious donations that were claimed on their tax returns.

Criminal charges were laid against Oladehinde on January 16, 2008, but when he failed to attend court and ultimately fled Canada, a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for him on February 9, 2009. More than a decade later, in October 2019, Oladehinde voluntarily returned to Canada and was arrested by the RCMP upon his arrival at the Toronto Pearson International Airport.

All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.

To maintain the fairness of our tax system, the CRA holds tax evaders, and those that facilitate tax evasion, accountable for their actions. For the five-year period between April 1, 2015, and March 31, 2020, the courts convicted 21 tax preparers/promoters for tax evasion, both personally and for actions on behalf of clients. The courts sentenced the tax preparers/promoters to a total of $1.39 million in fines and 34 years of jail time.

Being convicted of tax fraud exceeding $5,000 under Section 380 of the Criminal Code carries a sentence of up to 14 years imprisonment.

The CRA remains dedicated to maintaining the integrity of Canada’s tax system, and the social and economic well-being of Canadians during these unprecedented times. The CRA continues to aggressively pursue tax evasion, and false claims with all the tools available to them. The CRA is dedicated to ensuring that individuals and businesses make claims to which they are entitled so that important benefit programs can be administered to those who need them. As a result of COVID-19, we are seeing the increased importance of these benefits, and are working to ensure that they continue to be available to Canadians. Any individual or business who claims losses or benefits that they are not entitled to, including ineligible claims related to new COVID-19 benefits, may be required to repay the benefit or be subject to other possible action.

The CRA has set up a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current on the CRA’s enforcement efforts.

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Contacts

Paul N Murphy
Senior Communications Advisor
416-952-8105