Amira and Nadya Gill in an undated photo.
Iqaluit RCMP has announced that Karima Manji, Amira Gill and Nadya Gill have been charged with two counts each of fraud over $5,000.
According to an RCMP news release, an investigation began earlier this year that showed “between October 2016 and September 2022 the women were found to have applied for and obtained Inuit beneficiary status as adopted Inuit children.”
“The women used this Inuit beneficiary status to defraud the Kakivak association and Qikiqtani Inuit Association of funds that are only available to Inuit beneficiaries by obtaining grants and scholarships.”
The allegations have not been proven in court.
APTN News has previously reported that there have been other scholarships obtained by the Gill twins.
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In 2017 Amira won a $4,000 scholarship from HydroOne, the Ontario utility company.
The online announcement lists Amira as Inuk. This appears to be the first public reference that the sisters are Inuit. The twins are listed as born in 1998, making them either 18 or 19 at this point.
According to online information, individuals are eligible for an award if they are a “Status Indian, a Non-status Indian, Inuit or Métis person enrolled in a full time post-secondary program and are in financial need.”
In 2018, Amira also won an award for Indigenous students from RBC, one of Canada’s largest banks that was previously called the Aboriginal Student Awards program.
Award winners get $4,000 per academic year for two to four years.
The women are scheduled to appear in an Iqaluit court on October 30, 2023.
APTN has reached out to the family but did not receive a response. Indspire has also refused to comment on the money provided to the twins.
