In court, Judge Lance said it was important to know if victims from the former waterfront restaurant could be compensated.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes he have the means to pay reparation?\u201d the judge asked defence counsel Peter Tomlinson.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point? No,\u201d was the reply.<\/p>\n
But Tomlinson said Chtouk, aged 55, had some work lined up which could change that.<\/p>\n
Judge Lance indicated the victims in this case were not illegal workers, but legitimate workers who had not been getting paid properly. <\/p>\n
Prosecutor Rhys Boyd, on behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), said he had about 400 pages of evidence. <\/p>\n
Boyd said the minimum wage defaults were serious and a starting point for punishment should be upwards of 30 months\u2019 imprisonment. <\/p>\n
Joseph Brooks, also known as Aziz Chtouk, pictured in 2011. Photo \/ Brett Phibbs<\/p>\n
The Immigration Act charges carried a maximum penalty of seven years\u2019 prison, $100,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n
The court heard one of the alleged victims was a Brazilian man. Three others had Arabic names. <\/p>\n
\u201cInvariably, some of the witnesses did not keep hour-by-hour records,\u201d Boyd said.<\/p>\n
Charging documents said one victim was exploited between March 7, 2023 to April 24 that year.<\/p>\n
Offences for another worker ran from April 5 to July 24 that year.<\/p>\n
For another, the offending happened from April 10 to July 24 that year.<\/p>\n
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 <\/p>\n
Court documents showed Chtouk aided or abetted Artworks Management to have a temporary worker while not honouring minimum wage rules. <\/p>\n
Chtouk is sole shareholder and director of Artworks Management, described on the Companies Office as a \u201cresidential property body corporate\u201d incorporated in 2016.<\/p>\n
Documents from when Artworks Management and Chtouk were charged in November 2023 named three workers with temporary entry class visas. <\/p>\n
The court today heard one worker \u201cwas doing his own back-of-the-envelope calculations\u201d about hours worked.<\/p>\n
Judge Lance said he wanted to ensure no disputes over money owed emerged at sentencing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s work to be done, yes, but I\u2019m sure we will end up with an agreement,\u201d Tomlinson said. <\/p>\n
The defence said restorative justice should be considered. <\/p>\n
Prosecutors must provide submissions on sentencing by June 5.<\/p>\n
The defence must file its response by June 19, a week before Chtouk\u2019s sentencing. <\/p>\n
Judge Lance told Chtouk the probation service would provide a report before sentencing and that would include discussions about a possible electronically-monitored sentence.<\/p>\n
The court heard Chtouk\u2019s passport was suspended.<\/p>\n
Bad taste<\/p>\n
The former Morocana restaurant, on Princes Wharf, downtown Auckland. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Jason Perry, MBIE national manager of investigations, said charges related to offending carried out through two companies linked to\u202fChtouk.<\/p>\n
They were Artworks Management and Dolcidrop Limited, both of which operated the Morocana restaurant at different times. <\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, as the companies are no longer registered, Aziz is being charged individually,\u201d Perry said.<\/p>\n
The charges related to underpayment and unlawful working conditions involving workers at the former restaurant.<\/p>\n
Perry said the case showed MBIE took all matters of migrant exploitation seriously.<\/p>\n
Morocana is no longer at the site and a different business has replaced it.<\/p>\n
Hair-raising past<\/p>\n
As Yosef Aziz Chtouki, he was banned from acting as a company director for four years in 2012.<\/p>\n
He was then accused of running hair and beauty salons, when banned from doing so<\/a>, where a string of women suffered injuries.<\/p>\n The Herald in 2011 reported that Chtouki, going by the name Joseph Brooks, was responsible for Hair Co and Beauty Co\u2019s staff in West Auckland.<\/p>\n Some customers of those New Lynn salons reported injuries, including two who said their hair fell out after chemical straightening<\/a> and one who said her eyeballs were burned.<\/p>\n Another said she was left with bald patches, then told to \u201cput two eggs on my head\u201d but \u201cBrooks\u201d called and compensated her.<\/p>\n Chtouk later said the news coverage was unfair because he\u2019d done nothing wrong or treated the women himself.<\/p>\n At the time, his aliases included James Joseph Brooks and Jo Brooks.<\/p>\n In November last year, Henderson Glass owners Brent and Yvette Meredith told Stuff they\u2019d taken an Aziz Chtouki to the Disputes Tribunal over an unpaid bill of more than $12,000 for work on a hair salon.<\/p>\n \u201cI am happy to go to court,\u201d Chtouk told Stuff at the time. \u201cI am not running from anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Visa abuse<\/p>\n A union and an employment advocate today told the Herald unscrupulous employers exploited the temporary entry class visa in numerous ways.<\/p>\n Employment advocate Danny Gelb said the first thing an exploited worker should do is contact MBIE. <\/p>\n \u201cThey have a specialised exploitation team.\u201d<\/p>\n Gelb was not specifically discussing today\u2019s Chtouk case, but visa exploitation broadly.<\/p>\n Gelb said people from overseas living in New Zealand often recruited workers from their homeland.<\/p>\n Sometimes the employer requested money to get the visa approved.<\/p>\n \u201cThe employment agreement gets signed up at 30 hours per week for the migrant visa pay rate.\u201d<\/p>\n Payslips were then presented which indicated that many hours were worked, when in reality staff were working longer hours.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not the Kiwi way. They should be sent home,\u201d Gelb said of foreign citizens who exploited migrants. <\/p>\n He said exploiters also harmed and undercut legitimate New Zealand businesses.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n \u201cThe companies prefer to employ migrants because they\u2019re cheaper labour compared to the local workers.\u201d<\/p>\n He said some employers abused their control over workers\u2019 visa sponsorship.<\/p>\n \u201cThat makes a migrant worker vulnerable. They need a sponsor all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the reason our union is working with different political parties and calling on the de-coupling of work visa sponsorship.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Gelb said visa worker exploitation was bad for everyone, except the unscrupulous businessperson – until that exploiter got caught.<\/p>\n