Sukhwinder Singh Kang, 33, of Camberley, Surrey, who had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of providing unregulated immigration advice and services, and four counts of fraud, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 27 September 2024.
He received a concurrent sentence of 16 months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, along with 150 hours of unpaid community work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days. Additionally, a compensation order of £8,832 was imposed, along with a victim surcharge of £156, with no order for costs.
John Tuckett, Immigration Services Commissioner, said: "This investigation highlights the true value of our efforts in preventing illegal practices and protecting vulnerable individuals. OISC investigations operate across the UK to identify, disrupt, and eliminate the unlawful activities of unregistered immigration advisers.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to everyone who contributed to making this outcome possible."
Between June 2020 and June 2021, Kang committed a series of frauds targeting vulnerable young women, exploiting their lack of immigration knowledge. He deceived them into paying significant sums of money by falsely purporting to be a qualified immigration adviser.
He selected his victims from Facebook groups, posing as a Level 3 OISC immigration adviser and providing forged certificates of his alleged qualifications. He assured each victim that he would handle their visa applications, misleading them through a series of WhatsApp and text messages that he was preparing and submitting their applications to the Home Office. Each victim paid him substantial sums in advance fees, trusting them with their identity documents, which Kang falsely claimed to have submitted to the Home Office on their behalf.
When each complainant threatened to report him, Kang promised full refunds, and in some cases, compensation, along with the return of their documents. Despite several attempts, none of the victims received any of the promised refunds or compensation.
The victims reported their concern to the OISC, the body responsible for regulating the provision of immigration advice and services in the UK. The organisation conducted a thorough investigation, which led to a successful conviction.
