A recruitment agency run by former banned company director Lubo Jack Raskovic out of an office block in Sydney's north west, promised to help find migrants sponsored jobs and a pathway to visas in exchange for asking fees as high as $70,000.
"He said he can find the right guy in my field - if I want [visa] sponsorship, he can help," said Melbourne-based mechanic and former client, Harmandeep Brar.
A joint SBS-Fairfax Media investigation can also reveal Mr Raskovic, 59, and his company, Global Skills and Business Services Pty Ltd, offered to pay cash to employers in regional areas, in return for jobs and visas.
"He works for a different company, All Borders Pty Limited - set up just weeks before Global Skills went broke."
Employer Chris Olm, from Chris's Welding & Steel in Chinchilla in Queensland's Western Downs Region, said he was offered $10,000 if he took on a worker and sponsored them for a visa. After pestering Mr Raskovic for his payment, he was told he would be paid in cash.
"He said, 'do you want money in cash' (and) I said, 'just put it in my bank account. Who f--kin' deals in cash, how dodgy is this," Mr Olm said.
Former clients said they discovered the business through word of mouth or Facebook posts. Most spent months trying to source a job though Mr Raskovic but eventually ended up seeking a refund which was never granted in full, and in many cases not at all. Some left Australia ruined.
Last month Mr Raskovic placed Global Skills, of which he is sole director and shareholder, into liquidation with debts of around $2.5 million, leaving 45 creditors, mostly Indian migrants, out of pocket.
According to corporate records the company had "nil" assets when it was wound up. But just 10 months earlier Mr Raskovic bought a $3 million mansion in Bella Vista - described by real estate agents as "one of the Hills district's finest homes" - and purchased a new $100,000 black Porsche Cayenne station wagon, under a separate business entity.
He works for a different company, All Borders Pty Limited - set up just weeks before Global Skills went broke - and operates from the same office under a similar business model. It's owned by his partner, Neo Tau, who shares his Bella Vista mansion.
