Society Gists

A UK-based Nigerian psychiatrist, Dr Kelvin Alaneme, has been caught in an undercover investigation by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), allegedly selling fake job opportunities to foreign nationals.

According to a BBC documentary, Dr Alaneme, a former National Health Service (NHS) worker, is the founder of CareerEdu, a recruitment agency based in Harlow, Essex. The BBC launched its investigation after multiple online complaints about his relocation services surfaced.

Selling jobs in the UK is illegal, yet CareerEdu reportedly marketed itself as a “launchpad for global opportunities catering to young Africans,” boasting of 9,800 “happy clients.”

Undercover Sting Reveals Recruitment Scam

The investigation revealed that Dr Alaneme attempted to recruit the BBC journalist, believing she had strong connections within the UK care sector. He allegedly offered the undercover reporter a role as an agent, promising substantial financial rewards for securing care home vacancies.

“Just get me care homes. I can make you a millionaire,” he was quoted as saying.

The BBC report stated: “As a potential business partner, our journalist was given unprecedented insight into how immigration scams by agents like Dr Alaneme actually work.

“Dr Alaneme said he would pay £2,000 ($2,600) for each care home vacancy she was able to procure and offered an additional £500 ($650) commission.”

He allegedly planned to sell these job vacancies to Nigerian candidates, despite acknowledging that such placements should be free.

“They [the candidates] are not supposed to be paying because it’s free. It should be free,” he admitted in hushed tones. “They are paying because they know it’s most likely the only way.”

Victims Speak Out

One victim, a Nigerian man in his mid-30s identified as Praise, revealed he paid Dr Alaneme over £10,000 ($13,000) for a job in the UK that never existed.

“I was told I was going to be working with a care company called Efficiency for Care, based in Clacton-on-Sea,” Praise said. However, upon arrival, he discovered the job did not exist.

“If I had known there was no job, I would not have come here,” he lamented. “At least, back home in Nigeria, if you go broke, you can find your sister or parents and eat free food. It’s not the same here—you will go hungry.”

Despite repeated follow-ups with Efficiency for Care and Dr Alaneme, the promised job never materialized.

Suspicious Employment Records Uncovered

The BBC investigation found inconsistencies in Efficiency for Care’s employment records.

“Efficiency for Care employed, on average, 16 people in 2022 and 152 in 2023. Yet, a letter from the Home Office to the company, dated May 2023 and seen by the BBC, showed it had issued 1,234 Certificates of Sponsorship to foreign workers between March 2022 and May 2023.”

Elaborate Visa Scam Revealed

In another secretly recorded meeting, Dr Alaneme detailed an even more sophisticated scheme involving sponsorship documents for nonexistent jobs.

“The advantage of having a CoS that is unconnected to a job,” he said, “is that you can choose any city you want—you can go to Glasgow, stay in London, live anywhere.”

However, the BBC report debunked this claim, stating: “This is not true. If a migrant arrives in the UK on a Health and Care Work visa and does not work in the assigned role, their visa could be cancelled, and they risk being deported.”

Dr Alaneme also explained how to fabricate a payroll system to conceal the scam, stating, “That [a money trail] is what the government needs to see.”

Wider Crackdown on Immigration Fraud

This case echoes previous immigration scams involving Nigerian fraudsters. A 2024 report detailed how four Nigerians were sentenced to prison for their role in a large-scale immigration scam involving over 2,000 forged marriage certificates.

The fraudulent documents enabled Nigerian nationals to illegally reside in the UK. The convicted individuals, Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade (41), Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo (38), Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi (31), and Adekunle Kabir (54), were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in London on August 27.

As UK authorities continue cracking down on immigration fraud, the BBC’s investigation into Dr Alaneme and CareerEdu has sparked renewed calls for stricter regulations to prevent job scams targeting vulnerable foreign workers.