Toronto man who helped Iran evade sanctions used 3 identities, CBSA reveals

On paper, Ameen Cohen is a 37-year-old banking professional with a business degree and a condo in Thornhill, Ont. But that is only his latest identity.

At a deportation hearing in Toronto, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) revealed the Iranian citizen has used no less than three names throughout his life.

He arrived in Canada as Amin Yousefijam and prior to that he was Amin Riki. It also emerged that he was a Tehran police lieutenant during his compulsory military service.

CBSA officials said he legally changed his name to Cohen in Ontario in 2022 — without divulging that he had been convicted in the U.S. of helping Iran evade sanctions.

The new details about his evolving identity emerged last week at an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing that will decide whether he should be sent back to Iran.