A 59-year-old Auckland man has been sentenced to nine months’ home detention for masterminding a complex immigration scam that involved creating fake jobs to deceive officials into approving visa applications.
It is reported by 1News that Umesh Patel, a New Zealand citizen, was sentenced at the Waitakere District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to 37 charges, including forgery and providing false or misleading information to an Immigration Officer.
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) told 1News that Patel initially ran legitimate businesses but later turned them into fronts for a fraudulent scheme that sold false employment opportunities to visa applicants.
“Applicants were required to pay between $10,000 and $30,000 for his services,” INZ said in a statement.
“They were instructed to deposit money into company accounts under the guise of business income, which Patel then returned to them as wages, less PAYE deductions, to create the illusion of genuine employment.”
The falsified wage records and documents were then used to support visa applications and mislead Immigration NZ.
It is reported that Patel’s operation involved associates and former clients who had previously secured residency through similar fraudulent means. These individuals were listed as company “directors”, but INZ found they had little or no control over the businesses, while Patel maintained full operational oversight.
“This approach enabled him to conceal his involvement and broaden the scope of the offending,” INZ said.
After an extensive investigation, Patel faced 21 counts of providing false or misleading information and 16 counts of forgery. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine months’ home detention with six months of post-detention conditions.
Immigration New Zealand confirmed it is now reviewing the immigration status of all individuals affected by the fraudulent scheme.
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