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Regulators have revoked an Ontario dentist’s license after Global News revealed he practiced under a name he adopted after his conviction to help Iran evade sanctions.
Dr. Aurash Cohen no longer has the right to practice in the province, according to the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontariowhich said it canceled its certification on November 20.
A university spokesman said he could not provide details about the cases.
But he said dentists seeking certification are “required to disclose their history of criminal conduct, in any jurisdiction, on their application for registration in Ontario.”
“The application form is a legal certification – dentists must declare the accuracy of the content of their application when submitted,” Lesley Byrne said in a statement.
The decision came six weeks after Global News informed that “Dr. Cohen” was, in fact, Arash Yousefijaman Ontario resident who pleaded guilty in 2021 to running a sanctions-busting scheme in Iran.
Together with his brother Amin Yousefijamexported sensitive manufacturing equipment to Iran. The Yousefijams pleaded guilty in the United States to sanctions evasion charges and were sentenced to time served.
The US returned them to Canada, where they used Ontario’s name change system to become Aurash and Ameen Cohen.
Under their adopted identities, Aurash Cohen graduated from McGill University and became a dentist in June, while Ameen Cohen was hired as a corporate compliance officer.
Immigration and Refugee Board
But his plan fell apart when immigration officials began deportation proceedings against Amin Yousefijam, an Iranian citizen who entered Canada under the skilled worker program.
The Canada Border Services Agency revealed the brothers’ name changes in hundreds of pages of documents entered as exhibits to the Immigration and Refugee Board.
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A hearing to decide whether to deport Amin Yousefijam is scheduled to begin in Toronto on February 25. The CBSA discusses the resident of Richmond Hill, Ont. it is a danger to the security of Canada.
Amin Yousefijam undermined efforts to contain the Iranian regime and contributed to “an increased threat to Canada’s security in terms of terrorism and nuclear attack,” the CBSA wrote in a report.
“Mr. Yousefijam’s activities directly compromised the Canadian government’s efforts with respect to its foreign policy objectives with respect to Iran,” according to the CBSA report.
Arash Yousefijam is a naturalized Canadian citizen and therefore cannot be deported. He did not respond to an email seeking comment, but said in an earlier response that he had “paid his dues.”
The dental college said those applying to practice in Ontario must demonstrate that their past and present conduct gives confidence that they will carry out their work “with decency, integrity and honesty and in accordance with the law ” said Byrne.
“The registration regulations also provide that an applicant shall be deemed to have failed to meet the requirements for the issue of a certificate of registration if the applicant has made a false or misleading statement or statement in respect of his sole request”.
The said the Ontario government sought to reform its name change policies to ensure that those convicted of violations of international sanctions and other serious crimes cannot hide from their past.
Iran is a key source of instability in the Middle East. He leads the so-called “axis of resistance” that includes Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and Hamas, which carried out the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
At the same time, the Iranian regime has been linked to several recent assassination plots targeting dissidents living abroad, as well as Irwin Cotler, a former liberal MP and outspoken critic of the Islamic Republic.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
