A former Liberal Party nomination contestant in Don Valley East has been slapped with just a $500 fine after Elections Canada investigators found he falsified his campaign filings and concealed expenses.

Hafeez Ladha, who sought the Liberal nod in the August 2021 contest, signed off on documents he “knew, or ought reasonably to have known, to be false or misleading,” according to the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections.

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Investigators uncovered that:

Ladha’s own $1,500 cash contribution was falsely reported as coming from another individual.

Website expenses and seven paid Facebook ads were never declared.

His financial agent submitted backdated staff contracts and honorarium agreements.

An accountants’ firm, Mortimer Kostioutchenko Patel, provided services that were never reported as non-monetary contributions.

Despite the laundry list of violations—including hidden donations, falsified paperwork, and fake expenses—the penalty amounts to a mere $500 administrative fine under the Canada Elections Act.