Charges filed vs 2 illegal recruiters in Milan

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Complaints have been filed in Milan, Italy, against those allegedly involved in fraud and illegal recruitment of Filipinos who paid exorbitant placement and consultancy fees in exchange for what turned out to be nonexistent jobs in Italy, according to the Philippine Consulate General in Milan.

In a statement posted on its official Facebook account, the Consulate General said complaints of aggravated fraud have been filed before the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Milan against Diane Kristine Respicio and John Dutaro, chief executive officers of the immigration consultancy firm Alpha Assistenza SRL.

The consulate said the first 11 complaints were filed by lawyer Bruno De Blasi, the Italian counsel hired by the Department of Foreign Affairs to represent the 100 Filipino complainants based in Italy in the class suit against Respicio, Dutaro, and others allegedly involved in defrauding over 200 Filipinos in the Philippines seeking work in Italy under the “decreto flussi” program.

“Attorney De Blasi will be filing additional complaints in the coming days before the Office of the Public Prosecutor, which is expected to review the complaints and decide whether to bring the case to trial,” the consulate said.

“The complainants represent a total of 269 Filipinos in the Philippines who were said to have been made to pay at least 3,000 euros (about P180,000) each for jobs in Italy under the decreto flussi program that later turned out to be nonexistent,” it added.

According to ItaliaHello, a nonprofit organization that helps migrants and refugees, decreto flussi is an Italian government law that sets quotas on how many non- European citizens may enter Italy for work. INQ