A father and two sons who employed nearly 200 construction workers illegally have been jailed for over 17 years in total…
Three men have been convicted of employing illegal workers, it has emerged. Baljit Rai, 55, and his two sons Mandeep Rai, 32, and Daljit Rai, 34, were found guilty of providing jobs for 180 illegal construction workers.
The trio, from Littleover in Derby, were brought before Derby Crown Court to face charges, and were jailed for a total of 17-and-a-half years.
The case was constructed again the three with help from the Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) card fraud team, supported by the police and Home Office Immigration Enforcement.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Mandeep Rai was “the driving force behind the employment of most workers”. He created fake documents that enabled so many workers to gain illegal employment. For this reason he received a seven-and-a-half year sentence. His father and brother were handed a jail term of five years each.
CITB Fraud Investigator Ian Sidney said: “CITB takes illegal activity extremely seriously and it is critical that we continue to stamp out the fraudsters.
“I hope this conviction sends a strong message to anyone else that may be taking part in illegal activities, and highlights the seriousness of fraud in construction.
“We simply do not tolerate any fraudulent behaviour that puts people’s lives at risk or brings the industry into disrepute.”