A global network has fleeced students out of tens of thousands of pounds for worthless visa documents they hoped would enable them to work in the UK.
A BBC investigation has found middlemen working as recruitment agents preyed on international students who wanted jobs in the care industry.
The students paid up to £17,000 each for sponsorship certificates that should have been free.
When they applied for skilled worker visas, their paperwork was rejected by the Home Office for being invalid.
We have seen documentation that shows one man, Taimoor Raza, sold 141 visa documents – most of which were worthless – for a total of £1.2m.
The BBC has learned that Taimoor Raza, a Pakistani national who had been living in Wolverhampton and working in Birmingham, is at the top of one visa network.
He approached recruitment agencies in the West Midlands and said he could arrange work in care homes and organise visa applications for their clients.
A further 55 successfully obtained a visa, but the care homes they had been promised work with said they had no record of the arrangement.
Student Ajay Thind said he was recruited to work for Mr Raza after he paid him £16,000 for a care worker visa.
More people got in touch after seeing the posts and names were added to the list.
Mr Singh said they began to realise the agents operated like a pyramid scheme.
“There are loads of little team leaders and agents… and some of them might get commission,” he said.
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He denies doing anything wrong and has paid back some of the money to students.
Mr Raza rented offices and hired staff in the West Midlands and promised dozens of students work in care homes and employment sponsorship.
We have been told he began selling legitimate documents and that a handful of students obtained visas and genuine jobs.
But many more lost their entire savings on worthless paperwork.
