An unlicensed man who operated as an immigration adviser in Porirua's Samoan community has been sentenced to 10 months' home detention and ordered to pay reparation to his victims.
Menefata Toso pleaded guilty in April to 10 charges laid by the Immigration Advisers Authority, and was sentenced in the Porirua District Court earlier this week.
In one case a client said she felt betrayed after finding that Toso, to whom she had paid $3500 to lodge a permanent residency application, was not licensed to do the work.
Another woman paid Toso more than $1800 for immigration advice but he was unsuccessful in obtaining visas for the family and she suffered significant financial harm.
Immigration Advisors Authority registrar Catherine Albiston urged anyone else who had received immigration advice from an unlicensed operator to speak to her organisation.
