Arun George worked half his life, saving £15,000 ($19,460), which he used to get his wife a care worker position in the United Kingdom. But in a few months, he lost everything in what is now known as a UK care worker fraud.
Paid late 2023 to the managers of Alchita Care, a private domiciliary care home in Bradford that sponsored his family’s visa, Mr George—whose true name is concealed to preserve his wife’s identity within their small community—paid. He paid with the guidance of a local agency in his southern Indian state of Kerala.
The couple took a big financial risk, hoping for a better future for their special needs child. But when they arrived in the UK, there was nowhere to work.
“We kept after the care facility, but they offered justifications. Following my pleas, they had us pay for unpaid training and assigned my wife just three days of employment.” Mr. George stated. “We couldn’t continue, and a few months later, we returned to India.”
Mr George thinks the experience has set him back financially by at least a decade and feels he has been duped. Among hundreds from Kerala, his family has been taken advantage of by recruiters, intermediaries in the UK, care worker fraud, and care facilities.
How Common Is This Kind of Abuse?
Many have given up hope of seeing justice or reclaiming their money. Several additional carers who paid Alchita Care hundreds of pounds reported similar problems. One employee, remaining in the UK, said, “I have been surviving on bread and milk from charity shops for the past few months.”
Not her genuine name, Sridevi paid £15,000 for visa sponsorship and another £3,000 for travel to the UK in 2023. She cannot now return to India for fear of the reaction of friends and relatives who gave her money.
“I fight to even pay for my rent and meals,” she remarked. Her employment hardly resembles the steady eight-hour work she was promised. She drives from one patient’s house to another, sometimes on call from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m., yet she gets paid just for the time she spends with the patient, not the complete shift.
The problem acquired impetus when care workers were included on the shortage occupation list for the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 epidemic. This rule enabled international hiring as long as workers were sponsored. As it also allowed them to bring their families, many Kerala nurses considered this a chance for a better life. Unfortunately, many became victims of the UK care worker fraud.
Why Is Getting Justice Such Difficult?
Over the past three years, Baiju Thittala—a Labour Party member and Cambridge mayor—has represented at least ten such victims. He notes, though, that the cross-border character of these programs makes legal action challenging.
“Very often, the victims have paid care homes or middlemen domiciled outside India, leading to jurisdiction problems,” he stated.
Most victims cannot afford costly legal battles since they already have great debt.
Thittala believes that at least 1,000–2,000 Kerala residents still suffer from such false schemes in the UK. Hundreds more around Kerala have misplaced their money before ever heading to the UK.
Legal professionals claim that although fraud is a criminal act, foreign money transfers complicate matters. Many times, victims pay local Indian brokers who then forward the money to contacts in the UK, making recovery more difficult.
Many victims have even ceased seeking legal advice since they think their chances of receiving justice are low. Some are left stranded in the UK, unable to work, and too embarrassed to go back home jobless.
Behind these scams is who?
About thirty victims in the village of Kothamangalam related their stories, exposing group losses of millions of rupees. They claimed to have been misled by false employment offers and sponsorship letters from one agent, Henry Poulos, and his agency, Grace International, which operates in the UK and India.
Many victims said Poulos even made them go 2,500 kilometers to Delhi for non-existent visa appointments.
Alleppey resident Shilpa obtained a 13% APR bank loan to pay Poulos, only to get a fictitious certificate of sponsorship in return.
“I thought the UK would offer a decent future for my three daughters, but now I am struggling to pay their school fees,” she said.
Another victim, Binu, collapsed as he related his ordeal.
“I now have nothing at all. My wife abandoned her employment in Israel to enable us to travel to the UK. We were making a nice £1,500 there, but right now, we must remove our kids from Kerala’s private school since we are broke.
Despite many attempts, neither Poulos nor Grace International answered questions. Following allegations from at least six victims, police in Kothamangalam verified that Poulos is absconding in the UK and that his local offices have been closed.
What steps have been taken to stop more exploitation?
Last year, the UK government admitted that paid below the minimum wage and issued visas under pretenses were carers being given. New laws meant to tighten rules in response were adopted in 2024. These include limiting care workers from bringing dependents, raising their minimum pay, and reducing the visa’s appeal to families.
Since July 2022, about 450 licenses letting care sector companies hire foreign workers have been withdrawn. Starting in early 2024, sponsors are expressly forbidden from passing on expenses connected to sponsorship to staff members.
Kerala police authorities are still investigating these incidents and, if necessary, are considering collaborating with Interpol to find fake agents.
How Are Current Victims Handling Things?
Many victims have found their lives fundamentally altered. While others have been forced to accept low-paying employment to exist, others have massive debt. Families who previously yearned for a rich life in the UK are now coping with financial disaster.
Many returning victims from Kerala deal with social shame. They are now pressured to repay their debt since they borrowed big amounts from banks, relatives, or friends. To survive, others have resorted to selling jewelry or real estate.
“I never imagined I might wind up like this. Another victim said, “My dream was to work and provide a good life for my family, but instead, I am back home struggling to pay off debt that will take years to clear.”
Although the UK care worker fraud has left many wondering about their future, it has also increased awareness of the dangers of foreign employment. Professionals advise prospective employees to carefully investigate recruitment companies, cross-reference sponsorship information with official UK immigration sources, and steer clear of upfront big payments.
For those who have already been taken advantage of, though, justice is still far off in the UK care worker fraud.
