A Wolverhampton Crown Court has sentenced a former UK National Health Service (NHS) manager to 2.5 years in prison for fraudulently channeling more than £123,000 ($164,850) from the NHS.
According to a news release by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Alec Gandy, 42, spent more than £92,000 ($123,289) of the amount he swindled on gambling.
a pair of hires that turned out to be fictitious
The ex-Senior Operational Manager at Dudley Integrated Health and Care NHS Trust was found guilty of an elaborate ruse. Gandy used his role to hire a physician’s assistant paramedic, a pair of hires that turned out to be fictitious and registered under the details of his ex-wife Kaylee Wright and his friend Matthew Lane.
Gandy authorized fake invoices totalling £123k to Wright and Lane, who would wire him back “significant portions” of the cash. Gandy’s prison sentence came after a prior guilty plea to fraud by abuse of position.
The Crown Court judge also sentenced the friend and ex-wife to 12 months jail, suspended for 18 months, and an 18-month community order, respectively. Lane must also log 200 hours of volunteer work, while Wright must complete 25 days of rehabilitation activity.
A victim statement revealed that the money Gandy swindled could have been used to pay the annual salary for either four Nursing Associates, two Community Paramedics, or two Clinical Pharmacists.
NHS Counter Fraud Authority Head of Operations Ben Harrison said the calculated scam “diverted significant public funds away from frontline patient care.”
