A Bay of Plenty man who exploited multiple migrants and attempted to pervert the course of justice has been sentenced to 12 months home detention and ordered to pay his victims $80,000 in reparations.
Jafar Kurisi, 60, was charged in late 2020 after an investigation into exploitation allegations by a group of migrant workers he previously employed. He pleaded guilty to all charges in January this year after the trial was delayed by Covid-19.
Five residential properties in the Tauranga area were searched in July 2020 after allegations contracting companies were exploiting migrant workers. These searches were initiated after information was provided to Immigration New Zealand from the kiwifruit industry and the community.
Investigators spoke to 27 people from Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh about their immigration status and their employment in New Zealand as part of the operation.
Victim impact statements from two of the complainants detailed the financial impact and emotional harm they had experienced, including having pay withheld and being forced to sleep on the ground in a garage.
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Both statements said the pair were paid between $12-15 an hour, when the minimum wage at the time was $18.90, with neither paid for all hours worked.
Kurisi was found to have been unlawfully employing migrants on Visitor Visas and carried on when those visas expired.
He was charged with seven migrant exploitation charges and one of attempting to pervert the course of justice, all of which he admitted to.
The sentence included a 20% reduction due to an early guilty plea, a 25% reduction for the reparation payment, and further leniency for Kurisi’s ill health and age.
Repeat offender, previously sentenced for migrant exploitation
Kurisi is a repeat offender and was previously sentenced in February 2017 on four migrant exploitation charges. He was sentenced to 12 months home detention and ordered to pay $55,000 in reparations.
The efforts of investigators working with community, industry and government agencies to out the victims first would act as a “strong deterrent” to further offending, said Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) immigration compliance and investigations general manager Steve Watson.
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“I’m incredibly grateful for the involvement of our Labour Inspectorate, Tenancy Services, New Zealand Police colleagues and to Zespri for their cooperation. I am also very proud of our investigation team who worked tirelessly to bring this matter to court.”
Watson also acknowledged the two victims who made statements for the court.
“They remained in New Zealand to see this through and can now put this chapter behind them, and finally return home knowing that Kurisi has been held to account.”