Convicted NHS fraudster ordered to hand over all assets
This follows a financial investigation led by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority using powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA).
Published: 08/03/2019
Published: 08/03/2019
Convicted NHS dialysis manager, Alan Hodge has been told he must pay the NHS £30,720 following his role in a large fraud against Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, or face an extra 9 months in jail (Croydon Crown Court, 7 March 2019).
Hodge (55), of Aultone Way, Sutton, Surrey, was sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment in December 2016 following an investigation by both national and local NHS fraud investigators. As the Trust’s Renal Technical Department Manager, he awarded contracts to three company owners with whom he colluded to inflate invoices for work that was substandard and sometimes not completed at all.
The group were sentenced to 10.5 years in total in December 2016. After their convictions, NHSCFA Financial Investigators began the process to recover money stolen and return it to the NHS. With POCA orders already having been granted for three of the fraudsters, the NHSCFA has continued to progress action against Hodge. The NHSCFA demonstrated that he had £30,720 of available assets, including his £30,000 share of his former home and a £720 scooter. He has been instructed to pay the total amount within three months (by 7 June 2019) or face a further 9 months’ imprisonment. The money will go straight back to the NHS and the NHSCFA will now continue to explore all other avenues to recover the money taken, including working with NHS Pensions to consider accessing the financial value of Hodge’s NHS Pension Scheme.
Richard Rippin, Head of Operations at the NHSCFA, says:
“Ringleader Alan Hodge was the last to have his POCA hearing, and we are delighted that the money he defrauded is finally going back to NHS funds. But our action will not end here, and we continue to pursue the remainder of the money originally intended for patient care that he diverted into his own accounts. This action serves as a clear reminder that those who seek to take money from the NHS will not only be brought before the courts to answer for their fraudulent activity, but they will also be pursued to ensure that every available penny is returned back to the NHS where it belongs.”
If you suspect that anyone is committing fraud or another economic crime against the NHS, tell NHSCFA about it - you can call our 24-hour, confidential reporting line 0800 028 40 60 or use our main website to report online: www.cfa.nhs.ukFor more information contact the NHSCFA press office on 020 7895 4519/4524.
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