A banned recruiter has been convicted and ordered to pay more than £20,000 by Swansea Crown Court for running an illegal employment agency.

Adrian Farmer was found guilty of charging vulnerable workers up to £124 a time for falsely claiming that he could find them work overseas, despite being banned in November 2003 from running an employment agency for 10 years.

The DTI made an application to the Magistrates’ Court for the case to be passed to the Swansea Crown Court for sentencing and for section 70 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2000 to be considered.

The court found that Farmer did benefit from the proceeds of crime and ordered him to pay a confiscation order of £20,387.86, which included compensation to two workers. In addition the Court sentenced Farmer to a fine of £2,500 for 3 charges of operating his employment agency whilst prohibited.

Jim Fitzpatrick, employment relations minister, said: “This prosecution underlines our message to rogue agents that we will not hesitate to act against any agency that wrongly and wilfully ignores the law or rips off workers. It is essential that employment agencies comply with the legislation and the DTI will continue to take whatever action is necessary, including prosecution and prohibition, to protect workers against these illegal practices.”