An immigration adviser who fleeced at least nine clients and committed 123 breaches of the code cannot practice for five years, the licensing regime's tribunal said on 2 September 2026.

Qian Yu, also known as Heidi Castelucci, carried on advising after being suspended and kept $8000 of a client's student fees for her own purposes, according to the tribunal decision reported by RNZ.

"The public would call such conduct theft," the tribunal said.

– With RNZ RNZ business (NZ) reports.