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

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.uk

"NHS fraud. Spot it, report it, together we stop it"

For more information contact the NHSCFA press office on 020 7895 4519/4524.

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Notes to Editors

  1. This case featured in the BBC programme ‘Fraud Squad NHS’, episode 4
  2. The NHS Counter Fraud Authority is a Special Health Authority established under the NHS Act 2006 as amended.
  3. £1.27 billion was lost to fraud in the year 2016-17.
  4. When NHSCFA uses the term ‘fraud’, we refer to a range of economic crimes, such as fraud, bribery, corruption or any other illegal acts committed by an individual or group of individuals to obtain a financial or professional gain.
  5. NHSCFA also supports the work of the NHS Counter Fraud Service (Wales)
  6. NHSCFA works closely with NHS Local Counter Fraud Specialists across the NHS in England to ensure that healthcare crime is tackled and a culture of fraud prevention and deterrence is in place.
  7. NHSCFA works collaboratively with NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services on fraud issues.
  8. There are some 300 professionally trained and accredited Local Counter Fraud Specialists in place within health bodies across England and Wales.