Canadian twins ‘pretended to be Inuit to receive more than $10,000 in college scholarships and grants for their facemask business’
Canadian twins ‘posed as Inuit and received more than $10,000 in scholarships and grants for their face mask business’
- Amira and Nadya Gill, 25, are accused of lying about their heritage for money
- They said they were adopted and that their birth mother was an Inuk woman
A pair of Canadian twin sisters have been charged with fraud after allegedly posing as Inuit to obtain more than $10,000 in grants and scholarships for their online business.
Amira and Nadya Gill, 25, along with their mother, Karima Manji, were charged with fraud worth more than $5,000 each.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, they told police they were the biological daughters of Inuit woman Kitty Noah, and that Manji had adopted them.
The lie earned them grants and subsidies for their online business selling COVID face masks.
Amira and Nadya Gill, 25, along with their mother, Karima Manji, were charged with fraud worth more than $5,000 each. They claimed thousands of grants and scholarships by claiming Inuk heritage, which police now say was a lie
Among the benefits the sisters received were grants for their face mask business. They proudly advertised it as native property
The sisters regularly promoted the brand as Inuit-owned, promoting it in local media.
The fraud is said to have taken place between 2016 and 2022.
It remains unclear whether the girls were adopted or whether they are Manji’s biological children.
The alleged fraud first came to light in March, when Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. announced that it would investigate the girls’ claims.
Noah, the Inuk woman the girls claimed was their biological mother, died in July this year.
The sisters claimed they were adopted and that their biological mother was Inuk. It remains unclear whether they were adopted
Before her death, she publicly denied the birth of the girls.
Her son, Noah Noah, told CBC in April: “She was definitely taken advantage of by this Karima Manji.
‘They’re not my mother’s twin. We talked to her about it and she was as baffled as we were.’
According to the NTI, the fraud is the first of its kind in the organization’s history.
After graduating from college, the sisters started a business selling face masks during the COVID-19 period.
They advertised it locally and appeared on a local outlet CTVOttawa.
All three women are scheduled to appear in court in Ottawa next month.
Noah’s family says they are outraged by the lies.
They believe that Manji only knows about their family, who live in Iqaluit, because she was once a man in the family.
Aluki Kotierk, the president of the NTI, was furious about the alleged fraud.
‘You wanted to take our language from us. You wanted to take our culture from us.
‘Are you trying to claim our identity now? It’s just mind-boggling.’
Neither of the twins nor their mother have commented publicly.
Nadya Gill and her sister Amira even promoted the company in the local press