The former managing director of a Yorkshire computer company has been sentenced to 180 hours community service for selling used computers to the NHS in place of new machines a trust had ordered.
Gordon Rae Wallis of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, formerly managing director of Networking Solutions (UK) plc, denied obtaining a money transfer by deception. He was found guilty at Leeds Crown Court on 21 October and sentenced at Bradford Crown Court last week. The court also issued a confiscation order for over £25,000 and Wallis was ordered to repay the NHS £2,000 in court costs.
In total, Wallis defrauded Calderdale Healthcare NHS Trust, now part of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, of a total of £69,137. An announcement from the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service after Wallis was sentenced said that the service would be looking to recover lost assets. Networking Solutions (UK) plc has gone out of business.
CFSMS chief executive, Jim Gee, commented: “Gordon Wallis dishonestly supplied the NHS with equipment that was not to the standard requested. This could have affected the smooth running of a large organisation and in turn the delivery of patient care. We believe that today’s sentence is justified, it shows society will not tolerate those who defraud the NHS.”
The NHS has taken a tougher line on fraud in recent years with the Counter Fraud Service claiming a 98% successful prosecution rate in cases it has pursued. Gee said that because of cases like Wallis’ and the support of the honest majority, general fraud levels in the NHS had fallen by 40% in the past four years.