Blackmail and Exploitation in Court | Auckland News

Auckland News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 3, 2026 · 1m

A business owner accused of exploiting migrant workers faces court on charges including underpaying them by over a million dollars, forcing them into deplorable living conditions, and using intimate footage to blackmail a former employee. CCTV caught Patel confronting the worker with recordings, allegedly threatening him to stay silent — after a phone recording was left in a room where the employee had an intimate encounter. The worker described working 100 hours a week without breaks, living in cramped, unsanitary conditions, and being pressured to stay silent for fear of his family’s…