When Nisha and Eshwar stumbled across a Facebook page filled with comments from people claiming to have been scammed, they felt an instant sense of dread.
In January, the couple paid $11,000 — an amount that had taken them years to save — to a company they believed to be a leading migration consultancy: My Ambition Consulting.
In exchange, the company's managing director assured the couple, who share a visa, that they would receive a call from an employer willing to sponsor them for permanent residency in Australia.
But weeks passed and the call never came.
"We were scared," says Eshwar, who also claims the process did not pan out the way they thought it would.
We realised that we got trapped into a scam and it has happened to many people.
Too good to be true
The couple's ordeal started in late 2023 when Nisha was targeted by ads for My Ambition Consulting on social media.
The company's slickly produced videos explain different visa options, boasting about how the company will facilitate applications and connect skilled workers with employers for an "employer-sponsored visa".
For Nisha, who migrated to Australia from Nepal six years ago, it was an attractive proposition. The 27-year-old has been working in the aged care sector while studying on a student visa, but her ultimate dream is to become a nurse.
With living costs biting and her working hours restricted by her visa conditions, Nisha and her husband Eshwar decided to book an appointment with My Ambition.
The couple say they were charged an initial consultancy fee of $100 to meet with the company's managing director Abhinaya Bhandari in January.
Nisha says her dealings with My Ambition have caused ongoing stress. Credit: SBS
SBS News is not suggesting that Bhandari illegally provided migration advice. However, emails to clients sent by Bhandari, which SBS News has sighted, include a disclaimer that "any migration advice in the above email has been discussed and subsequently approved by our qualified migration agents".
Like Nisha and Eshwar, Bhandari is also from Nepal. The pair describe him as a "charming" man who instantly established rapport with them, going as far as to say he considered them "like family".
But the cost of the company's services was beyond their budget.
"It's not a small amount, it's $11,000. It really matters for us," Nisha says.
"We have to pay everything here like college fees, rent, bills, groceries and everything. And we hardly save [any] money."
As the couple contemplated the decision, staff from My Ambition started calling them almost hourly, telling them they needed to act quickly to secure their place and that spots were filling up.
Not wanting to miss out, the couple handed over their savings; a decision they say has now left them in a deep depression.
'He played with our emotions'
After paying the fee and signing a client service agreement, Nisha and Eshwar quickly realised something was wrong.
The terms of the client service agreement issued to Nisha and Eshwar include the broad provision of "migration advice and visa options" and assistance with completing relevant visa application paperwork required by the Department of Immigration.
It notes that the company cannot guarantee the success of an application and that ultimately the decision rests with the department.
However, under its refund policy, the agreement stipulates that My Ambition will arrange three interviews with prospective employers for "potential sponsorship" and that if the client is unsuccessful in all three, they will be eligible for a full refund.
When after eight weeks, the company still had not fulfilled the terms of the agreement, the couple confronted Bhandari and asked for a refund. He agreed to pay back $10,500 and sent the couple a screenshot of a bank transfer purporting to be the refund — but the money never appeared in their account.
When Nisha and Eshwar questioned why they still hadn’t received the money days later, Bhandari advised them he had cancelled the refund because the policy only applies after three months and instead, he suggested a meeting. Nisha and Eshwar reluctantly agreed to meet but Bhandari was a no-show.
Nisha and Eshwar are among the more than 70 people who claim they are owed money by My Ambition. Credit: SBS
But the couple say they have still not received a cent.
"Emotionally, psychologically, [Bhandari] played with our feelings, with our emotions; our brains," Eshwar says.
We were totally broken … we are still depressed and haven’t slept to this day. We want justice.
SBS News contacted Bhandari for comment but he declined to respond. Questions sent via his lawyer were also declined.
False promises
SBS News is aware of more than 70 people who say they are owed refunds by My Ambition Consulting.
NSW Fair Trading has confirmed it is investigating the company for allegedly accepting payment and failing to supply services at all or in a reasonable time.
"NSW Fair Trading has received 28 complaints about My Ambition Consulting since December 2023," a spokesperson told SBS News.
Tala, whose name has been changed for privacy, first came across My Ambition Consulting in early 2022 while struggling to find a job in Melbourne post-COVID.
Originally from the Philippines, Tala came to Australia in 2018 on a student visa. A year later, she was able to bring her then three-year-old daughter to live with her as a dependent but struggled to secure school enrolment for her 10-year-old. To this day, her eldest daughter remains in the Philippines.
When Tala received a quote from My Ambition for its services, she initially had reservations. But she agreed to pay the fees after Bhandari assured her that his company would connect her with an employer who would not only sponsor her but also her husband and two children.
"When we signed up with this in 2022, we [were] so excited about it and were so happy because finally we'll be together," Tala says.
Then when the nomination was refused, it gave me so much stress.
Tala and her family had been waiting for a response from the Department of Immigration for a year before the application submitted by My Ambition was ultimately refused.
Fed up with the process, Tala started to search for other avenues online when she came across the same Facebook group later discovered by Nisha and Eshwar.
After reading testimonies posted by former clients of My Ambition, Tala decided to seek legal advice and was able to obtain the reasons as to why her nomination was refused.
SBS has seen that document, which outlines significant errors in the application documents prepared by My Ambition, including the absence of an employment contract. Tala says she was sent a contract via My Ambition offering employment as an accountant with Statewide Cranes, which she signed and returned.
SBS News contacted Statewide Cranes to clarify whether it had offered employment to anyone seeking an employer-sponsored visa. A spokesperson told SBS News that employment has never been offered on this basis but declined to confirm this in writing.
In August 2023, Bhandari sent Tala a letter, which SBS News has sighted, promising to refund her $32,000 within 30 days. The refund was never received.
Including payments to the department and to a lawyer, who Tala engaged to help recoup funds from My Ambition, Tala has spent more than $50,000 since first meeting with Bhandari. She is yet to receive any money back from him.
Tala says the worst part is the way it's impacted her relationship with her husband and family.
"[My daughter in the Philippines] is actually not aware of what is happening," Tala says.
She kept on asking me 'When am I going to go [to Australia]? What is happening? Are you still going to get me?'
"[My mum] thinks that we're just waiting for the visa approval and it's taking forever for Immigration to approve the visa because I don't have the courage to tell her that this is happening. I don't know how to say it even, and I don't know how to start."
Tala has yet to be reunited with her eldest daughter, who remains living with family in the Philippines. Credit: SBS
Livelihoods at stake
Under Australian federal law, only registered migration agents, legal practitioners or exempt persons can give immigration assistance. The penalty for unlawfully providing immigration assistance can be up to 10 years imprisonment.
Simon Sen Tao is a registered migration agent who has freelanced for the past 12 years. In early 2023, he says he was invited by Bhandari to work as an in-house migration agent for My Ambition Consulting, which he agreed to.
Tao says the company was struggling with many of its visa applications being rejected, and he was asked to help train other agents to improve outcomes.
He says he was shocked to receive a call in late 2023 from a lawyer acting on behalf of a client who was pursuing legal action against the company. He later found his picture had been shared among the Facebook group of claimants labelling him as a "scammer".
Simon Sen Tao ended his professional relationship with My Ambition after he learned that a client was pursuing legal action against the consultancy. Credit: SBS
"I have to explain to my business associates, current clients, and even my family members who saw my picture online. I have to explain to them what's going on."
Tao says he immediately ended his relationship with My Ambition Consulting and reported the company to the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA). SBS News contacted MARA to confirm whether the case remains open but they declined to comment on its status.
This is my livelihood. I don't want to put it at stake. I don't want my registration to be suspended.Simon Sen Tao
At the time of writing, Tao's photo and MARA number are still listed on My Ambition Consulting's website.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs explained in a statement to SBS News that the department pursues disciplinary action when it finds a registered or former migration agent has breached MARA’s Code of Conduct or is otherwise not fit to provide immigration assistance.
"The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority is committed to safeguarding the integrity of the migration advice profession by taking action against registered migration agents whose conduct undermines the standards expected of the industry," the spokesperson said.
Vulnerable consumers exploited
Immigration lawyer Christopher Levingston says Tala, Nisha and Eshwar's experiences are not isolated. He believes that the complexity of Australia's legal system has long been taken advantage of by people who target migrants in many other cases.
"They're often community fixers and they operate as the go-betweens between the candidates and the opportunity, which may or may not be realised," Levingston says.
"It's fraud: that's what it really boils down to."
Over his 35 years practising immigration law, Levingston says there's been a lack of action from the Commonwealth when it comes to pursuing and prosecuting bad actors.
Official advice is to always check whether someone offering migration advice is a registered agent. However, even that doesn't guarantee reliability and investigations by MARA can be slow, says Helen Duncan, CEO of the Migration Institute of Australia.
Key things to watch out for include excessive fees and promises to assist with things beyond immigration.
"So as soon as someone says, 'If you give me a certain amount of money, I will find you a job', then alarm bells should really start ringing," Duncan says.
"That's not the work of a migration agent for one thing, and also it's not something in recruitment that should happen."
It's a lesson Nisha and Eshwar say they've learnt the hard way. They're now warning others to avoid rushing into any decisions that involve migration agents.
Eshway says: "Whoever says that they're going to find a sponsor for you, they're scammers I say … they're just trying to steal your money."
— This story was produced in collaboration with Abhas Parajuli of SBS Nepali.
