A care home recruitment director in south-east England has been jailed for hiring Indian immigrants with no right to work in the UK. Benoy Thomas, 50, ran A Class Care Recruitment Ltd in Bexhill-on-Sea. He hired 13 illegal workers between 2017 and 2018.
Lewes Crown Court convicted him in July after a detailed trial. The court heard that he used contacts in southern India to bring workers into the UK. He then placed them in care roles without proper checks or training.
Prosecutors said these workers handled vulnerable people and lacked medical skills. Investigators also discovered that Thomas tried to hide documents in a garage before his arrest.
The Crown Prosecution Service presented timesheets, invoices, messages, bank records and handwritten notes. The evidence showed that he knowingly arranged work for people without legal status.
Thomas arrived in the UK in 2007 and became a British citizen in 2012. He will serve two-and-a-half years in prison. The court also banned him from serving as a company director for eight years. The CPS said it will continue to act against those who exploit immigration rules.
