An Ontario man from Brampton has been sentenced to three years in prison for his involvement in a significant fraud case, amounting to over $34 million in false charitable donations.
Festus Bayden, associated with a tax preparation business called E & F Tax Associates or Bankay Financial Services Inc. in Toronto and Brampton, orchestrated the fraudulent scheme. He claimed bogus charitable donations totaling $34 million on individual income tax returns for the years 2004 to 2006, prepared for more than 30 clients.
Bayden misled his clients by promising larger refunds or reduced taxes through charitable donations significantly lower than those claimed on their returns. Despite fleeing the country before facing prosecution, he returned to Canada in June 2023.
Having pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 under the Criminal Code, Bayden was sentenced to prison on Feb. 27. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) emphasized that Bayden charged his clients approximately 10 percent of the falsely claimed charitable donation amounts.
The CRA condemned such promoters for deliberately misleading clients to evade taxes, thus benefiting financially from their fees. It reaffirmed its commitment to holding both promoters and users of such services accountable to maintain tax system fairness.