A former head of estates and capital projects at Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, who fraudulently earned £245,246 over a five-year period by making false claims about his credentials, has been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for a year, and to 200 hours of unpaid community work for fraud, following an NHS Counter Fraud Service investigation.
Hasan Tahsin, arrested in May 2009 following an audit of senior managers’ qualifications at the Trust, admitted not possessing the university qualifications and professional body memberships cited on his application forms – considered essential criteria for the posts he held at five different Trusts. Claiming specialisms including estates and project management, he had held responsible NHS positions since 1990. He was charged with two offences of Obtaining a Pecuniary Advantage by Deception (Contrary to Section 16(1) Theft Act 1968), and three offences of Fraud by False Representation (Contrary to Sections 1 and 2 Fraud Act 2006). Investigating officer Alan McGill said: “It is regrettable that he managed to secure senior management posts within the NHS for so long. Such deceptions are the exception, and the vast majority of NHS staff are of high integrity.”
