Three Job Agents Sentenced to Prison in Kerala for Defrauding Overseas Employment Seekers
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New Delhi, Jan 10 (NationPress) The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam, Kerala, has found four job agents guilty and sentenced them to five years of rigorous imprisonment for defrauding a minimum of 21 individuals with false promises of employment in Italy, Spain, and the UK, as reported by the CBI on Friday.
The court upheld the charges presented by the federal agency, stating that the convicts had dishonestly induced emigrants to pay a total of Rs 28.27 lakh, gaining wrongful profit through a criminal conspiracy to commit fraud.
The convicted individuals include Sebastian P. John, former Managing Director, Biju alias Mathew, former Manager (both from Amer Speak, American Accent Academy, located in Kalathipady, Kottayam, Kerala), and Johncy Joseph.
The fourth convict, Steffi Mary George, spouse of Sebastian P. John, failed to appear for her sentencing hearing, resulting in the separation of her case.
The court also mandated a fine of Rs 30.06 lakh on the three convicted individuals as part of a bank fraud case.
Following the recovery of the fine from Sebastian P. John, Biju, and Johncy Joseph, each will pay Rs 1,40,000 as compensation to the 21 victims they deceived, as per the court's order.
The CBI re-registered this case on August 9, 2011, adhering to the Kerala High Court's directive from September 7, 2010, against the accused.
It was claimed that the accused formed a criminal conspiracy to defraud aspiring emigrants under the false pretense of providing jobs abroad in Italy, Spain, and the UK.
As part of this conspiracy, the accused unlawfully persuaded emigrants to pay Rs 28,27,000, resulting in significant financial loss to the victims, as stated by the CBI.
