A Toronto man facing deportation for violating sanctions against Iran has filed a court case against the Canadian government for rejecting his try and sponsor his mother to immigrate.
Amin Yousefijam, an Iranian citizen who also goes by Ameen Cohen, filed his case in Federal Court after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada turned down his sponsorship application.
The case asks the court to put aside the choice, arguing it was unfair, but the filing fails to mention that the Canada Border Services Agency has been attempting to deport Yousefijam as a security threat.
The Immigration and Refugee Board said a call on his deportation was expected in the approaching weeks. Meanwhile, Yousefijam is now living in Richmond Hill, Ont., in accordance with his court filings.
He didn’t reply to requests for comment. The CBSA referred questions on his case to IRCC, which declined to comment for the reason that matter was before the Federal Court.
“While we cannot comment on a particular case, a everlasting resident is usually not eligible to sponsor a parent in the event that they themselves are inadmissible to Canada. Individuals could also be found ineligible on criminality or security grounds,” a spokesperson said.
Born in Iran as Amin Riki, the previous Tehran policeman modified his name to Amin Yousefijam before arriving in Canada in 2016, in accordance with the border enforcement agency.
He was arrested in Toronto in January 2021 on U.S. charges that alleged he had taken part in a conspiracy to ship sensitive technology to Iran in violation of economic sanctions.
He was detained for 10 months before being extradited to Michigan, where he pleaded guilty. Deported back to Ontario, he legally modified his name to Cohen, a moniker he said he selected since it “resonated with me.”
Convicted in sanctions scheme, brothers change names to Cohen
Arash (left) and Amin Yousefijam, aka Aurash and Ameen Cohen.
His brother Arash was also convicted and similarly modified his name to Cohen and have become a dentist under his adopted name. Ontario revoked his dental licence in 2024 after Global News revealed his past.
In February 2025, the CBSA sent Yousefijam to the Immigration and Refugee Board for a deportation hearing, arguing his involvement in Iranian sanctions evasion made him a national security threat.
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His actions compromised the Canadian government’s policy on Iran’s authoritarian regime, which leads an “axis of resistance” made up of terror groups Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraqi militias and Yemeni Houthis, the CBSA argued.
At his hearing, Yousefijam argued he had only pleaded guilty to the dodging of U.S. sanctions since it was the fastest technique to resolve the matter. “It was not an request for forgiveness,” he insisted.
In keeping with court documents filed this month and released to Global News, Yousefijam applied to sponsor his mother as an immigrant on Aug. 18, 2025, six months after his deportation hearing.
His application was denied because he didn’t pay the required fees. In his appeal, he claimed the transaction was not approved, which he called a “good-faith” mistake. He’s representing himself within the case.
Ontario small claims court records obtained by Global News show that in December 2019, the Yousefijam brothers agreed to pay $14,000 to an Iranian woman who had sued them and their mother.
But they denied the Iranian refugee claimant’s allegations they’d threatened to have her deported after she asked them to repay money.
“People sue one another left and right in small claims court, what’s recent?” Arash Yousefijam responded in an email when asked in regards to the case.
Alleged senior regime official denies having authority
Amin Yousefijam’s Canadian residence card. He has legally modified his name to Ameen Cohen.
Immigration and Refugee Board
Yousefijam’s deportation case is one among several dozen launched against Iranians because the federal government is under pressure to stop members and supporters of the regime from using Canada as a shelter.
The CBSA has rejected claims that it had received suggestions concerning 700 high-level regime officials living in Canada. Moderately, it said 280 suggestions had are available and that 174 investigations had been launched.
A lot of the investigations were closed since the individuals in query were either not in Canada or were “determined to not be a senior official within the Iranian regime,” the CBSA said.
Border officials have identified 32 suspected senior members of the Iranian government living in Canada, in accordance with the CBSA. Twenty-three of them have been, or will probably be, sent to the IRB for deportation hearings.
A hearing for one among them, Abbas Omidi, continued on Monday. The CBSA has alleged that before coming to Canada, he served as a deputy director general in Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade.
But Omidi downplayed his role in the federal government, arguing that he was simply a technocrat with no decision-making authority. “I used to be so many levels lower than minister,” he testified.
After arriving in Canada in March 2022, he worked as an Uber driver and continued to play a consulting role in Iran’s mining industry, although he was never paid, he testified, speaking through a Persian interpreter.
Omidi’s case resumes on April 10. Up to now, only a single regime member has been deported under a policy introduced in 2022 in response to Iran’s crackdown on women’s rights protesters.
The presence of former Iranian officials in Canada has develop into a more pressing issue since pro-regime forces killed 1000’s of demonstrators in January and the U.S. and Israel went to war against the Islamic Republic in February.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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