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Immigration Daily News Unregistered immigration fraudster gets 300 hours community service and $10,000 fine.
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Unregistered immigration fraudster gets 300 hours community service and $10,000 fine.
An unregistered migration agent has been convicted and sentenced for migration fraud offences in the Magistrates Court of Victoria, according to the office of the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) into unlawful migration assistance to visa applicants, according to a statement from the Minister’s office.
Maria Nani was found guilty of providing false documentation to visa applicants in return for money. The former migration agent continued to provide unlawful assistance to visa applicants after her registration was cancelled by the Office of Migration Agents Registration Authority, who had determined that she was not a fit and proper person to give migration assistance. Nani was found guilty of having assisted non-genuine applications for skilled and family visas.
At the court hearing earlier this month, Nani lodged a plea of guilty and was convicted. She was sentenced to a community corrections order of 300 hours' community service over 18 months across all charges, fined $10 000 and ordered to pay $113.90 costs and $4075 in repatriation orders.
According to a report in the Herald Sun, Magistrate Peter Mealy said,”She was dealing with vulnerable people she chose to exact from them moneys she knew she was not entitled to… She chose to enrich herself at their cost."
Prosecutor Raphael de Vietri said Nani duped 17 visa hopefuls in believing she could help them secure residency. She charged almost $30,000 and had received payment of more than $11,000 before her arrest.
Minister Cash said where the department becomes aware of fraud, the matters are fully investigated and can result in criminal and administrative penalties.
'A person who is found to have wilfully lodged or assists someone to lodge fraudulent visa applications containing false or misleading information for migration purposes will be considered for prosecution to the full extent of the law,' Minister Cash said.
'The department works closely with other government agencies, both federal and state, to assist in the identification and prosecution of people committing fraud against the Commonwealth.'
Comments
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Wednesday, 27 August 2014I believe that the media, OMARA and and we as a profession need to stop refereeing to them as “unregistered migration agent”, as there is no such thing. If you are not register you are not a Migration Agent, full stop.
If someone is giving medical advice but is not a Doctor, they are not referred to as an Unregistered Doctor. They are called quacks or criminals.
Calling them unregistered migration agent simply gives them legitimacy. -
Wednesday, 27 August 2014
Pretty soft punishment! Fraction of what they would have made!
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Wednesday, 27 August 2014
Please stop referring to unregistered fraudsters as migration agents!
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Wednesday, 27 August 2014There you go I have edited the heading and from now on will refer to them as immigration fraudsters and ask all to do the same. Thanks for the tip!
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Wednesday, 27 August 2014
That is good Liana. The Immigration dept does not distinguish between the 'registered migration agent' and the 'registered migration agent'. thru their ICSE, we often see MA=Migration Agent or AR=Authorized Recipient.
It would interesting to ask Christopher what rights for those victims of immigration fraudsters. would the dept reconsider client's applications retrospectively?
Immigration blog
Registered Migration Agent vs Unregistered Migration Agent continues to give the idea that it's lawfully possible to be a "Migration Agent" either registered or unregistered.
Under current law this is "sort of" not the case.
The public just doesn't quite get the difference and probably never will.
There is also the common assumption that a Registered Migration Agents are lawyers.
Anyway the above matter seems to be more about the offending person providing migration assistance AFTER OMARA barred her and the fact that somewhere along the line she assisted persons to lodge vexatious or baseless applications.
Michael Jeremy