Real Estate Bosses Face Court for Wage Theft

0:00This is Corey, keeping Adelaide in the know, you're listening to Adelaide News today. Two former directors and a former bookkeeper from an Adelaide real estate company are facing court over claims they underpaid a migrant worker through. An illegal cashback scheme. Jingxu and Jace Richardson were part owners of a Zitzenan and Chen Sun handled the books. The Fair Work Ombudsman says they forced the worker to hand back his wages in cash. The worker, a Chinese national in his 20s on a temporary graduate visa, allegedly withdrew his weekly pay and gave it straight back to the directors. This happened between April and July 2020, totaling $10,7002. Officials claimed they threatened his job if he refused. The scheme left the vulnerable migrant short on his rifle earnings. The bookkeeper also allegedly issued fake pay slips to make it look like everything was above board. Such tactics are seen as one of the worst kinds of wage theft. Now the case heads the federal circuit and family court this month.

1:02The Ombudsman once penalties up to $133,200 against each of the three plus $13,320 extra for Sun over the pay slips. Meanwhile, Zitzenan has been liquidated and de-registered. Protecting workers like visa holders remains a key focus for authorities. This episode is supported by our sponsor CDetails in the description. A pillow that sounds as good as it feels, built for listening in bed, S-O-L-L-I, solelypillow.com.