Made Moon Blog

The Sheffield Crown Court decided upon a prison sentence for a worker who was found guilty of falsifying documents with a view to defrauding his employer. The worker pleaded guilty to the charges.

David Steven Sammons, was employed in 2007 in the medical records division of Rotherham General Hospital. Sammons had been recruited through Adecco UK Employment Agency. The employee was required to present his work schedule and time sheets to the agency for the processing of his paycheck. These documents were required to be checked and verified by a member of the hospital staff whose signature would also be attested to these papers.

Sammons forged the signature of the hospital staff and presented documents showing many more hours of work than he had actually put in. This fraud came to light in early 2008. The fraud included false time sheets showing his work schedule for a period when he was no longer employed by the hospital.

Sammons defrauded the hospital trust to the tune of £18,000. A further claim of £3,000, was held back when the investigation began. The Rotherham NHS Trust’s fraud detection arm first discovered the anomalies in the time sheet and launched a full scale investigation which revealed the fraud. The NHS Counter Fraud Service (CFS) and Rotherham Police supported the hospital’s Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) during the investigations.

The fraud specialist compared witness accounts and documented work schedules from the hospital and the employment agency with the claimant’s time sheets. Following the discovery of the fraud and the claimant’s admission of guilt he was awarded a 12 month prison sentence by the court on four charges of fraud. Judge Robertshaw condemned the crime and said that it was regrettable such unlawful activities are being carried out against organisations providing essential services to the public.

The CFS East Midlands was involved closely in these investigations. The Operational Fraud Manager said that anyone who is aware of such fraud being done must immediately bring it to the notice of the NHS. He further warned that severe punishment would be meted out to those engaging in such activities.

Employers can keep themselves up to date with HR and personnel developments to enhance the working capability of employers by taking accredited CIPD training by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development; the professional body for those involved in the management and development of people.