London police have arrested three people following an investigation into an exam fraud scheme.

Investigators were informed by the Canadian Border Services Agency of issues involving English proficiency exams.

The scheme involves a surrogate taking an exam and receiving a passing grade for a foreign student who would otherwise fail.

The surrogate presents a counterfeit passport that shows their picture along with the identification of the person that hired them.

Once the surrogate passes the language exam, the foreign student that hired them is granted admission to a college or university and a study permit or permit extension is provided by Immigration Canada.

The average cost in this scheme is $7,000.

On Friday, officers arrested Alan Yan, 25, of North York, Mengshi Yue, 27, of Toronto and Li Huang, 39, of Richmond Hill.

All three are charged with:

possession of a forged passport

possession of a forged document

personation at examination

personation to gain advantage

Li is additionally charged with public mischief.

The CBSA will be reviewing any possible misrepresentation by students who have applied for study permits.