A Toronto-area settlement worker could face jail time in the United States after attempting to smuggle a failed refugee claimant across the border in the trunk of her car.
Court documents show Donna Pham pleaded guilty this week to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., an offence that carries a maximum sentence of five years behind bars and a $250,000 fine.
However, the documents indicate that because Pham has accepted responsibility and has one or fewer prior convictions, her sentence is likely to range between six and 12 months, with a fine of $4,000 to $40,000.
An agreed statement of facts says Pham and a friend drove to the Rainbow Bridge border crossing in Niagara Falls, NY, just after noon on Jan. 6.
During the inspection, a border guard found a man in the trunk of Pham's car. The man, identified only as M.P., was a citizen of Senegal and had twice been refused non-immigrant visas at the U.S. consulate in Dakar.
His refugee claim in Canada had also been denied and he was ordered to leave Canada by Jan. 7.