A Victorian farm manager skimmed at least $300,000 from migrant workers through fake labour hire companies. His workers packed broccolini and asparagus on very low hourly rates.
Sarith Kit had workers, who were either not Australian citizens or didn’t have work visas, pack vegetables at Vizzarri Farms in Koo Wee Rup, south-east of Melbourne. The latter were paid as little as $14 an hour in 2015 and 2016. The going rate at the time was around $22 an hour, the County Court heard.
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. Prosecutor Nicholas Robinson, QC, on Monday described the two entities as “sham labour hire companies”.
According to theage.com.au, some of the workers were from Indonesia, while others were reportedly from Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia.
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