In court, Judge Lance said it was important to know if victims from the former waterfront restaurant could be compensated.
“Does he have the means to pay reparation?” the judge asked defence counsel Peter Tomlinson.
“At this point? No,” was the reply.
But Tomlinson said Chtouk, aged 55, had some work lined up which could change that.
Judge Lance indicated the victims in this case were not illegal workers, but legitimate workers who had not been getting paid properly.
Prosecutor Rhys Boyd, on behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), said he had about 400 pages of evidence.
Boyd said the minimum wage defaults were serious and a starting point for punishment should be upwards of 30 months’ imprisonment.
Joseph Brooks, also known as Aziz Chtouk, pictured in 2011. Photo / Brett Phibbs
The Immigration Act charges carried a maximum penalty of seven years’ prison, $100,000 fine, or both.
The court heard one of the alleged victims was a Brazilian man. Three others had Arabic names.
“Invariably, some of the witnesses did not keep hour-by-hour records,” Boyd said.
Charging documents said one victim was exploited between March 7, 2023 to April 24 that year.
Offences for another worker ran from April 5 to July 24 that year.
For another, the offending happened from April 10 to July 24 that year.
Joseph Brooks, aka Aziz Chtouk, former Hair Co manager, leaving Auckland District Court after an appearance on charges relating over running companies whilst bankrupt in 2012. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Court documents showed Chtouk aided or abetted Artworks Management to have a temporary worker while not honouring minimum wage rules.
Chtouk is sole shareholder and director of Artworks Management, described on the Companies Office as a “residential property body corporate” incorporated in 2016.
Documents from when Artworks Management and Chtouk were charged in November 2023 named three workers with temporary entry class visas.
The court today heard one worker “was doing his own back-of-the-envelope calculations” about hours worked.
Judge Lance said he wanted to ensure no disputes over money owed emerged at sentencing.
“There’s work to be done, yes, but I’m sure we will end up with an agreement,” Tomlinson said.
The defence said restorative justice should be considered.
Prosecutors must provide submissions on sentencing by June 5.
The defence must file its response by June 19, a week before Chtouk’s sentencing.
Judge Lance told Chtouk the probation service would provide a report before sentencing and that would include discussions about a possible electronically-monitored sentence.
The court heard Chtouk’s passport was suspended.
Bad taste
The former Morocana restaurant, on Princes Wharf, downtown Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig
Jason Perry, MBIE national manager of investigations, said charges related to offending carried out through two companies linked to Chtouk.
They were Artworks Management and Dolcidrop Limited, both of which operated the Morocana restaurant at different times.
“However, as the companies are no longer registered, Aziz is being charged individually,” Perry said.
The charges related to underpayment and unlawful working conditions involving workers at the former restaurant.
Perry said the case showed MBIE took all matters of migrant exploitation seriously.
Morocana is no longer at the site and a different business has replaced it.
Hair-raising past
As Yosef Aziz Chtouki, he was banned from acting as a company director for four years in 2012.
He was then accused of running hair and beauty salons, when banned from doing so, where a string of women suffered injuries.
The Herald in 2011 reported that Chtouki, going by the name Joseph Brooks, was responsible for Hair Co and Beauty Co’s staff in West Auckland.
Some customers of those New Lynn salons reported injuries, including two who said their hair fell out after chemical straightening and one who said her eyeballs were burned.
Another said she was left with bald patches, then told to “put two eggs on my head” but “Brooks” called and compensated her.
Chtouk later said the news coverage was unfair because he’d done nothing wrong or treated the women himself.
At the time, his aliases included James Joseph Brooks and Jo Brooks.
In November last year, Henderson Glass owners Brent and Yvette Meredith told Stuff they’d taken an Aziz Chtouki to the Disputes Tribunal over an unpaid bill of more than $12,000 for work on a hair salon.
“I am happy to go to court,” Chtouk told Stuff at the time. “I am not running from anything.”
Visa abuse
A union and an employment advocate today told the Herald unscrupulous employers exploited the temporary entry class visa in numerous ways.
Employment advocate Danny Gelb said the first thing an exploited worker should do is contact MBIE.
“They have a specialised exploitation team.”
Gelb was not specifically discussing today’s Chtouk case, but visa exploitation broadly.
Gelb said people from overseas living in New Zealand often recruited workers from their homeland.
Sometimes the employer requested money to get the visa approved.
“The employment agreement gets signed up at 30 hours per week for the migrant visa pay rate.”
Payslips were then presented which indicated that many hours were worked, when in reality staff were working longer hours.
“It’s not the Kiwi way. They should be sent home,” Gelb said of foreign citizens who exploited migrants.
He said exploiters also harmed and undercut legitimate New Zealand businesses.
Dennis Maga, Workers First Union general secretary, said abuse of the temporary entry class visa was a problem especially among small and medium-sized enterprises.
“The companies prefer to employ migrants because they’re cheaper labour compared to the local workers.”
He said some employers abused their control over workers’ visa sponsorship.
“That makes a migrant worker vulnerable. They need a sponsor all the time.
“That’s the reason our union is working with different political parties and calling on the de-coupling of work visa sponsorship.”
He said exploited workers should contact unions, the Labour Inspector at MBIE, or community groups such as Migrant Aotearoa or the Migrant Workers Association NZ.
Gelb said visa worker exploitation was bad for everyone, except the unscrupulous businessperson – until that exploiter got caught.
John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation and court. He has previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and courts.
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