A manager at an Australian farm skimmed at least AUD 300,000 (USD 231,906) from migrant workers through sham labour hire companies by arranging for farmhand staff to pack vegetables on low hourly rates, reports The Age Australia. The manager, Sarith Kit, had workers, who were either not Australian citizens or didn’t have work visas, pack vegetables at Vizzarri Farms for as little as AUD 14 (USD 10.82) an hour in 2015 and 2016, a County Court in the state of Victoria heard. Vizzari Farms is a major producer of asparagus in Koo Wee Rup, a town to the south-east of Melbourne, The award rate at the time was around AUD 22 (USD 17.01) an hour. While Kit put cash in envelopes distributed to the workers, he also skimmed money for himself through payments made out from M&G Vizzarri, the company that owned the farm, to two labour hire companies, V&T Golden and STN Seven, the court heard. Prosecutor Nicholas Robinson, QC, on Monday described the two entities as “sham labour hire companies”. Under the arrangement Vizzarri Farms had with V&T Golden and STN Seven, the labour hire companies were to provide the farm with seasonal workers and their invoices said the workers were paid at least AUD 21 (USD 16.23) an hour. But the companies didn’t supply workers, didn’t keep payment records and failed to check workers’ visa details, a prosecutor said.

Kit pleaded guilty to three counts of allowing an unlawful non-citizen to work, one of allowing a non-citizen to work in breach of the Migration Act and one of dealing with the proceeds of crime.