Care agency owner jailed for three years over immigration breaches

The owner of a care agency shut down in a UK Border Agency immigration raid – which led to an elderly woman starving to death – has been jailed for three years.

Gloria Foster, 81, died when she was left for nine days without food, water or medication following the UK Border Agency raid on her care provider.

Mahendrasing Caussyram, who ran CareFirst 24 in Sutton, Surrey, was jailed at Croydon Crown Court, while his wife Saraspedy Caussyram, received a twelve-month sentence, suspended for two years, with 150 hours community service.

The company was shut following a UK Border Agency immigration raid which found 12 of its 54 workers – mainly Filipino students – were in the country illegally.

The company was closed when it was found not to be paying tax or National Insurance on staff wages while paying the same staff less than half of the minimum wage.

The closure led to death of Mrs Foster who was found suffering from dehydration, starvation and kidney failure, dying 11 days later in February 2013 in Epsom Hospital.

Following a review into her death in September 2014, it was established the UK Border Agency had asked Surrey County Council to make alternative care provision for Mrs Foster a day prior to the raid but the council had failed to follow this up.

Surrey coroner Richard Travers ruled Mrs Foster died of natural causes contributed to by neglect.

“The gross failure to provide Mrs Foster with the care she required during that period contributed to her death”, he said. “Absolutely nothing was done about providing Mrs Foster with alternative care.”

Speaking after the inquest verdict, a spokesman for the Surrey County Council said: “We would again like to say how sorry we are for our failure to help Gloria Foster get the support she needed.

“We should have done more and we completely accept that.”

Sentencing the pair, Judge Peter Gower QC said: “There is clear compelling evidence that CareFirst 24 was engaging migrant workers on a self-employed basis in breach of their visas and or after their visas had expired.

“Equally clear is that the directors of CareFirst 24 undertook an active role in the recruitment of such workers and in controlling the company’s position as regards the legality of their working on its behalf.”