Pinoy sentenced 2-year jail term for exploiting fellow Pinoys in Canada
A Filipino businessman will face two years in jail after being convicted of exploiting fellow Filipino foreign workers in Canada.
Hector Mantolino, who owns several cleaning and maintenance companies, used Canadian government’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program to take advantage of the 28 workers he had brought in from the Philippines, the CBC News reported.
According to a statement, Mantolino paid these workers at least $500,000 less than their total reported wages.
Mantolino allegedly advised his workers to lie about their salaries and threatened them of losing their job in Canada if they do otherwise.
Some of the workers said they had stated they would receive a Canadian wage but were paid only $3.13 per hour after various deductions.
Judge Glen McDougall handed his decision against Mantolino over several factors including "the length of time the non-payment scheme was in place, the amount of effort by Mantolino to avoid detection and the vulnerability of people who were financially and emotionally abused by the offender.”
One of the victims Jason Sta. Juana Jr. expressed relief that Mantolino will be punished, after six years of resolving the case.
Mantolino was originally charged with 56 counts of immigration fraud following a Canada Border Services Agency investigation in June 2013.
In December 2017, Mantolino pleaded guilty to misrepresentation under provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. —Joviland Rita/LBG, GMA News
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