A Filipino Canadian recruiter, Jeanett Moskito, is facing accusations of scamming Filipino migrant workers in Canada by promising jobs and pathways to permanent residency, according to an investigative report by CBC News.
Despite having 35 labor violations in the past decade, Moskito’s companies, Link4Staff and Berderald Consulting, have continued operations. She allegedly charged illegal fees for employment placements, deceiving many hopeful migrants.
One of her alleged victims, John Gabriel Quizo, moved to Canada in 2022 to study hotel and restaurant management. Hoping for a better future, he paid Moskito $6,000 after being promised a full-time job and a legal work permit. Trusting a friend’s successful placement through Moskito, Quizo left school and worked as a housekeeper. However, after seven months, he was removed from the job schedule, left without a valid visa or work permit, and is now homeless.
Migrante Ontario reports that Quizo is just one of hundreds of Filipino migrants who have fallen for Moskito’s alleged schemes, with some paying between $2,000 and $10,000 for job offers that never materialized. The Ontario Ministry of Labour previously ordered Moskito to repay $200,000 in illegal fees across 61 cases, but fines as low as $250 have done little to stop her operations.
Despite complaints and advisories from the Philippine Consulate in Calgary and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), Moskito continues to post job ads on official Canadian employment sites. Filipino Canadian lawyer Jake Aguilar criticized the weak penalties, saying they fail to deter illegal recruiters.
Advocacy groups, including Migrante Ontario, are calling for stronger protections to prevent further exploitation of Filipino migrant workers in Canada.
