An employee of the National Health Service (NHS) has been found guilty of stealing nearly £300,000 worth of medical equipment from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust in Kidderminster. Emmanuel Nbanga, along with his wife Remilekun Olusesi and their friend Solomon Adeymi, orchestrated a scheme where Nbanga would pilfer supplies from operating theatre stock rooms and pass them on to Adeymi. Adeymi, who ran a company called Ultimate Medical, then resold the stolen items back to the hospital trust multiple times, unbeknownst to the NHS.
The fraudulent activities occurred between October 2017 and September 2019, resulting in significant financial losses for the NHS. Nbanga, aged 46, was convicted of fraud and fraudulent trading, while his wife and their friend were also found guilty of related offenses. Additionally, Nbanga had previously pleaded guilty to possessing false identity documents.
According to Dave Horsley from the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, the stolen stock was crucial for medical operations, impacting the care of patients in need. Suspicion arose when the NHS noticed unusually low prices from a company called UML during a tendering process for medical supplies. Further investigations revealed that the identification numbers on delivered items matched those of previously ordered items.
Stephen Collman, the managing director of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, condemned the fraudulent behavior, emphasizing the gravity of the situation as it involved NHS staff exploiting their positions of trust. Gayle Ramsay, a Specialist Prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, highlighted Nbanga’s abuse of trust and misuse of taxpayer funds, with support from Adeymi and Olusesi in the illicit scheme.
The CPS reiterated their commitment to collaborating with law enforcement to prosecute individuals engaged in public sector fraud.