A former NHS assistant has been jailed for stealing hospital stock and selling it back to the same trust in a £279,000 fraud case.
Emmanuel Nbanga, aged 46, of Skye Close, Smith’s Wood, Solihull, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of defrauding Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT) out of £279,000.
He was found guilty of fraud by abuse of position and fraudulent trading following a trial at Worcester Crown Court in June, with sentencing taking place on Friday (October 23).
Two other individuals were also sentenced for their roles in the scheme.
Solomon Adeyemi, aged 57, of Cole Hall Lane, Birmingham, received seven years in prison for fraudulent trading.
Remilekun Olusesi, aged 40, also of Skye Close, was given a 30-month sentence, suspended for 36 months, after being found guilty of money laundering.
His Honour Judge Lockhart KC commended the investigation, saying: "It was a job done in an exemplary manner and great work has been done on behalf of the NHS Counter Fraud Authority."
Nbanga worked as a materials management assistant at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, where he stole medical supplies from operating theatre stockrooms between October 2016 and September 2019.
He passed the stolen items to Ultimate Medical (UK) Ltd (UML), a company based in Tyseley, Birmingham, and directed by Adeyemi.
UML then sold the stolen supplies back to the trust.
This meant the Trust was effectively buying back its own stolen stock.
The Trust became suspicious of UML and began investigating.
Hospital staff opened UML deliveries before they reached theatres and found that identification numbers on some items matched those of stock previously delivered to the trust.
In total, the trust spent nearly £233,000 buying back its own stock.
The fraud also extended to other goods.
UML supplied the trust with sub-standard warm-up jackets, needle containers, and drug labels sourced from China.
Although these items were not stolen, the trust could not guarantee their safety or quality and was forced to destroy and replace them, incurring further costs.
Nbanga had requested that UML be set up as a supplier to the trust and initiated all orders with the company.
Investigators found that UML’s only customer was WAHT, and the NHS Shared Business Service confirmed that UML was not supplying goods to any other NHS trust within their remit.
The trust referred the case to its counter fraud specialist, who escalated it to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority’s (NHSCFA) National Investigation Service.
Funds paid to UML were traced to Lawyis Medical UK Ltd, a shell company set up by Olusesi, as well as personal accounts belonging to all three defendants.
Nbanga and Adeyemi were arrested in September 2019, and searches of their homes and UML’s business address uncovered stolen NHS stock worth more than £16,000.
Adeyemi also pleaded guilty to possessing false identity documents, including a forged Nigerian passport and a false national insurance card.
He used the identity of Patrick Smith to secure agency work as a healthcare assistant at two NHS trusts, earning almost £119,000 fraudulently.
Ben Harrison, head of operations and engagement at the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, said: "This case demonstrates the serious consequences that await those who seek to defraud the NHS.
"Nbanga abused his trusted position to systematically steal vital medical stock and arrange for it to be sold back to the very trust he was employed by, effectively making the NHS pay twice for its own medical supplies.
"The involvement of multiple individuals and two shell companies shows the calculated and organised nature of this fraud.
"This fraud also posed a direct risk to patients, as substandard and unsanitary goods entering hospital theatres could have had serious consequences for their health and safety.
"Every pound stolen from the NHS is a pound that cannot be spent on frontline services and the NHSCFA is committed to pursuing those responsible wherever the evidence leads."
Share