Alleged 'Russian mafia associate' arrested in Saskatoon pleads guilty to fraud charges

A man described by U.S. police as a "documented Russian mafia associate" has pleaded guilty to fraud charges in Saskatoon.

Alex Alexidze entered the pleas this week in provincial court. He is scheduled to returnto court April 1 for sentencing.

Police arrested him last year in an apartment in the city.

Alexidze's lawyer, Greg Curtis, said that the 49-year-old pleaded guilty totheft of groceries, possessinganother person's identity documents, possessing stolen credit cards, possessing avehicle knowing it was obtained by commission of criminal offence, possessing a citizenship card for fraudulent purpose and defrauding SaskatchewanSocial Services and Saskatchewan Health in an amount exceeding $5000.

• U.S. court documents reveal history of alleged 'Russian mafia associate' arrested in Saskatoon

In 2015, Alexidze pleaded guilty in an Akron, Ohio, courtroom to trying to illegally obtain a legal permanent resident card, also known as a "green card."At the time, he had a Canadian Indian status card in the name of John Peters and a letter claiming he was a member of the Teslin Tlingit First Nation inthe southern Yukon.

As part of the Ohio court case, defence lawyer Damian Billakfiled Alexidze's personal history.

"Mr. Alexidze was raised in a stable, middle-class family in the Soviet Union. Due to his father's political involvement, Mr. Alexidze was sent to the United States in 1998 because of violent threats to the family, but ended up in Canada. Between 1998 and 2014, Mr. Alexidze lived in Canada, Brooklyn, New York, and Akron, Ohio," Billak wrote.

"Mr. Alexidze graduated from high school in 1992 in the former Soviet Union and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in hotel management from Georgian State University in the Republic of Georgia in 1997. Then, while living in Canada, Mr. Alexidze earned his [commercial driver's licence]and was employed with Horizon Transportation up until the time of his arrest."

Alexidze was turned over to Canadian authorities in February2016.

"Provincial authorities in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario have active warrants for Alexidze's arrest on multiple charges related to theft, identity fraud, false documentation and other charges," a news release fromImmigration and Customs Enforcement said.

It was alleged that he committed frauds in Canada from 2013 to2015, sometimes using the alias "Alex Row."

Saskatoon police did not say how Alexidze came to their attention last year.