Dr. Kelvin Alaneme, a UK-based Nigerian psychiatrist, has been secretly filmed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in an undercover investigation, allegedly selling fake job opportunities to foreign nationals. Dr. Alaneme, who had worked for the National Health Service, is the founder of CareerEdu, an agency located in Harlow, Essex.
The BBC launched its investigation after receiving numerous online complaints about the relocation services offered by CareerEdu. According to the BBC, selling jobs in the UK is illegal, and CareerEdu is accused of deceiving potential migrants into paying for non-existent jobs.
Dr. Alaneme allegedly attempted to recruit a BBC undercover journalist, offering her a role as an agent for his business. He promised she could earn a substantial income by securing care home vacancies, stating, “Just get me care homes. I can make you a millionaire.”
The investigation revealed that Dr. Alaneme offered £2,000 ($2,600) for each care home vacancy the journalist could procure and an additional £500 ($650) commission. He allegedly planned to sell these vacancies to candidates in Nigeria, despite the fact that such payments are not supposed to be made, as obtaining care home jobs should be free.
One victim of the scam, a Nigerian man named Praise, claimed he paid Dr. Alaneme over £10,000 ($13,000) for a job that never existed. Upon arriving in the UK, he found that the job with a company called Efficiency for Care was a fabrication. Despite multiple attempts to contact both the company and Dr. Alaneme, Praise never received the job he was promised.
The BBC investigation found discrepancies in the employment records of Efficiency for Care, which had issued more Certificates of Sponsorship to foreign workers than it employed. Further footage captured Dr. Alaneme explaining how to fabricate a payroll system to conceal fake jobs, and offering advice on how to mislead authorities by issuing sponsorship documents for jobs that did not exist.
Dr. Alaneme denied the allegations, insisting that CareerEdu was not involved in any scams. He claimed the money Praise paid was for transportation, accommodation, and training expenses, which were forwarded to a recruitment agent. He maintained that CareerEdu’s role was to connect qualified employees with legitimate employers and denied that they had ever sold jobs for cash.
In a statement posted on his X.com page, Dr. Alaneme reiterated his innocence, stating, “I have never scammed or defrauded anyone in my life. And I never will.” He explained that while employers may charge extra costs for training and accommodation, CareerEdu had always refunded clients who were unsuccessful in securing jobs.
Dr. Alaneme also defended CareerEdu’s track record, claiming that over 98% of their clients had successfully relocated to the UK. He acknowledged, however, that the company’s relocation services had slowed due to global anti-immigration policies and unfavorable exchange rates.
In a previous case in 2024, four Nigerians were sentenced to prison for their involvement in a large-scale immigration scam that forged over 2,000 marriage certificates to help Nigerian nationals stay illegally in the UK.
