Source: Radio New Zealand
Liberty Consulting Group Limited in Rosedale, Auckland. RNZ / Gill Bonnett
An immigration adviser took thousands of dollars from a migrant, in a “subterfuge” where he would pay for a fake job at her husband’s firm, a tribunal has heard.
It upheld complaints by six customers of Qian Yu, also known as Heidi Castelucci.
The Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal said it was considering cancelling her licence and preventing her from reapplying when it ruled on sanctions next month.
Qian Yu/Heidi Castelucci has a provisional licence. Immigration Advisers Authority
She continued to work as an advisor after she was suspended in April last year, failing to submit a work visa for a Chinese man, who paid more than $1500.
“At the relevant time, she was engaged by Liberty Consulting Group Ltd trading as Liberty Immigration, of Auckland,” said the decisions. “She was also a contractor to New Zealand Language Institute and Foreign Exchange Program Ltd, of Hamilton and Auckland. Ms Yu’s husband, Toby Scott Castelucci, is a director and shareholder of both companies.”
Richard Wu, who worked for her and recorded Yu offering him residence in return for money after the company sacked him in 2024, paid an unlawful premium for his job.
The tribunal said he had paid about $22,000 which would be “extraordinarily high” if it was an immigration fee. She suggested he get paid cash-in-hand jobs alongside the fake job to hide what they were doing.
Façade
“She further told him about the subterfuge as to the paperwork of her husband’s company (in terms of the pay checks issued, which was money he was actually paying to her himself). She told him to pay his own tax, an obligation the agency had as his employer. The Tribunal finds that Ms Yu knew this advice was unlawful.
“The employment presented to Immigration NZ was a façade. There was no genuine job. It was a mechanism designed to obtain a work visa for the complainant (and ultimately residence) and hence a substantial premium for Ms Yu and her husband.”
Another client called and sent messages to her dozens of time, and unwittingly became an unlawful overstayer.
One woman had been applying for visitor visas for her relatives and said “the fraud had caused great loss to the family”.
“Ms Yu has not denied any of the allegations made against her,” said tribunal chair David Plunkett.
“As a professional person, she has a responsibility to engage in a disciplinary process. The tribunal draws an adverse inference from her failure to engage with either the authority or the tribunal. She has provided no explanation for the serious wrongdoing alleged against her.”
The tribunal heard she forged the signature of a client and fabricated an INZ letter, concealing decline decisions and not following up on information requests.
The Registrar of Companies has initiated action to remove Liberty Consulting from the register.
Qian Yu registered Global Pathways Consulting as a new limited company in February, with her husband Toby Castelucci as director and sole shareholder.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
