A woman jailed in Mexico despite evidence suggesting she is innocent needs help from the Canadian government, supporters say.

Liberal consular services critic Dan McTeague has been lobbying the federal government to aid 50-year-old Brenda Martin of Trenton, Ont., who has been imprisoned since February 2006 near Guadalajara, Mexico.

'By all evidence, she happens to be an unwitting victim of a fraudster who she happened to work for.'— Liberal MP Dan McTeague

Meanwhile, Martin's 69-year-old mother, Marjorie Bletcher, has written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, begging him to intervene. She has also made calls to her local Conservative MP, Rick Norlock, and to the Mexican Embassy in her daughter's behalf.

"I know she's not guilty," Bletcher told CBC on Tuesday night. "Whenever she calls she says, 'Mom, I didn't do it, I didn't do it. Please help me, please help me.'"

Employer pleaded guilty to U.S. fraud charges

Mexican authorities accuse Martin of helping her former employer, Alyn Waage of Edmonton, to defraud 15,000 victims around the world of $60 million through an internet investment scam called Tri-West Investment Club.

Waage pleaded guilty in 2005 to U.S. federal charges related to the case, following a joint investigation by U.S., Canadian and Costa Rican authorities.

But McTeague, who is MP for Pickering-Scarborough East, said he has a signed affidavit from Waage confirming that Martin was not involved in the scheme.

"By all evidence, she happens to be an unwitting victim of a fraudster who she happened to work for," McTeague said. "There's absolutely no reason she should languish in jail without the interests of her own government."

McTeague said he's worried about Martin's treatment by Mexico's justice system, which was called "gravely flawed" by a prominent human rights group earlier this month. Amnesty International's report accused the country of jailing some people on trumped-up charges with no chance to defend themselves, while letting others go free without charges after committing crimes as serious as murder.

According to Bletcher, Martin worked as a caregiver to Waage's mother for three years. After Waage fired her in 1999, Martin invested in his company.