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UK Care Sector Job Scams Exposed: Vulnerable Foreign Workers Targeted
Secret filming by the BBC has揭露 revealed the unethical practices of recruitment agents who defraud foreign nationals seeking employment in the UK care sector. These agents exploit the visa system, leaving many applicants financially and emotionally distressed.
Rogue Agents Exploit Visa System
Among the unscrupulous operators is a Nigerian doctor with prior experience in the NHS psychiatry field. An investigation by BBC World Service highlighted the apparent ease with which these agents deceive individuals, evade detection, and continue their fraudulent activities for profit, despite Home Office acknowledgements of system vulnerabilities.
Tactics Unveiled by Undercover Investigation
The BBC’s undercover operation exposed several deceptive tactics employed by these agents:
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Illegally trading jobs within UK care companies.
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Creating fictitious payroll schemes to disguise non-existent job positions.
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Expanding operations from the care industry to other sectors experiencing worker shortages, such as construction.
Surge in Immigration Fraud
Reports of immigration scams have proliferated since the expansion of a government visa program in 2022. Initially intended for foreign medical professionals, it was broadened to encompass care workers, inadvertently creating loopholes for exploitation.
A “Certificate of Sponsorship” (CoS) from a Home Office-licensed UK employer is mandatory for visa applications. It is the demand for these CoS documents that unscrupulous relocation agents are capitalizing on.
“A National Crisis” of Exploitation
Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre, emphasized the severity of the issue. “The scale of exploitation under the Health and Care Work visa is significant,” she stated, describing it as “a national crisis.”
Vicol argues that the sponsorship system holds “systemic risk” because of the “considerable power imbalance favoring employers,” which in turn has “fostered a predatory market of intermediaries to flourish.”
Undercover Investigation Targets Key Agents
Two undercover BBC journalists engaged with relocation agents operating within the UK to investigate these claims.
Dr. Alaneme’s Lucrative Scam
One journalist met Dr. Kelvin Alaneme, a Nigerian physician and founder of CareerEdu, an agency located in Harlow, Essex. CareerEdu’s website markets itself as a “launchpad for global opportunities for young Africans,” boasting 9,800 “satisfied clients.”
Dr. Alaneme, believing the journalist had strong connections within the UK care sector, attempted to recruit her as an agent, emphasizing the potential for substantial profits. “Just get me care homes. I can make you a millionaire,” he asserted.
As a prospective partner, the journalist gained unprecedented insight into Dr. Alaneme’s scam operation. He offered £2,000 ($2,600) per care home vacancy procured, plus a £500 ($650) commission. He then planned to sell these vacancies to job seekers in Nigeria.
Charging job applicants for employment is illegal in the UK. Dr. Alaneme acknowledged this, stating in a hushed tone, “They [the candidates] are not supposed to be paying because it’s free. It should be free… They are paying because they know it’s most likely the only way.”
The BBC initiated its investigation following numerous online complaints concerning CareerEdu’s relocation services.
Victim Testimony: The Devastating Reality of Job Scams
Praise, a man in his mid-30s from south-eastern Nigeria, reported paying Dr. Alaneme over £10,000 ($13,000) for a UK job. He believed he would be employed by Efficiency for Care in Clacton-on-Sea. Upon arrival in the UK, he discovered the promised job was nonexistent.
“Had I known there was no job, I would not have come,” Praise lamented. “In Nigeria, if you become destitute, family support is available. Here, hunger becomes an immediate threat.”
Praise contacted both Efficiency for Care and Dr. Alaneme for months regarding his start date, but despite Dr. Alaneme’s assurances, the job never materialized. Nearly a year later, Praise secured sponsorship from a different care provider, allowing him to remain in the UK.
Efficiency for Care’s Suspicious Sponsorship Activity and Response
Investigations revealed that Efficiency for Care, despite employing an average of 16 staff in 2022 and 152 in 2023, had been issued 1,234 Certificates of Sponsorship between March 2022 and May 2023, according to a Home Office letter dated May 2023.
Efficiency for Care’s sponsorship license was revoked in July 2023, preventing further international recruitment, though the company continues operations. Efficiency for Care denied any collusion with Dr. Alaneme, asserting lawful recruitment from Nigeria and elsewhere and challenging the Home Office license revocation in court.
Sophisticated Scam Tactics and Fake Payrolls
In another secretly recorded meeting, Dr. Alaneme detailed an even more complex scam involving sponsorship documents for phantom jobs. He highlighted the “advantage” of a CoS detached from a real job: “is that you can choose any city you want… Glasgow, London, anywhere,” he stated.
This assertion is false. Migrants on Health and Care Work visas must work in their designated role or risk visa cancellation and deportation.
Dr. Alaneme also outlined setting up a sham payroll system to mask the absence of genuine employment, stating, “That [a money trail] is what the government needs to see.”
Dr. Alaneme refuted all allegations, insisting CareerEdu offered legitimate services, not scams or job-selling schemes. He claimed Praise’s payment covered transport, accommodation, and training via another agent, and that he offered to assist Praise in finding alternative employment for free.
Agent Agyemang-Prempeh and Fake Sponsorships
The BBC also investigated UK-based agent Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh after multiple individuals reported collectively paying him tens of thousands of pounds for fictitious care worker positions for relatives and friends. Some CoS documents provided by Agyemang-Prempeh were identified as fake, resembling genuine CoS from care companies.
Agyemang-Prempeh then shifted to offering CoS for UK construction jobs, another sector permitting foreign worker recruitment. He established his own construction firm and secured a Home Office sponsorship license.
When approached by a BBC journalist posing as a Ugandan businessman seeking to bring construction workers from Uganda, Agyemang-Prempeh confirmed this was possible for £42,000 ($54,000) for three individuals.
Agyemang-Prempeh disclosed his move to construction due to “tightened” regulations in the care sector, indicating agents were exploring opportunities in other industries, stating, “People are now diverting to IT.”
Over 470 licenses in the UK care sector were revoked by the government between July 2022 and December 2024. These sponsors were responsible for recruiting more than 39,000 medical and care staff since October 2020.
Agyemang-Prempeh later requested an upfront payment for Certificates of Sponsorship, which the BBC declined. The Home Office has since revoked his sponsorship license. Agyemang-Prempeh defended himself by claiming he too was deceived by other agents and unaware he was selling counterfeit CoS documents.
Government Clampdown and New Measures
The Home Office issued a statement affirming “robust new action against shameless employers who abuse the visa system” and pledged to “ban businesses who flout UK employment laws from sponsoring overseas workers.”
Previous BBC investigations have revealed similar visa scams targeting individuals from Kerala, India, and international students in the UK seeking care sector employment.
In November 2024, the government announced a crackdown on “rogue” employers hiring foreign workers. Furthermore, starting April 9th, care providers in England must prioritize recruiting international care workers already within the UK before seeking overseas candidates.