Former CDHB Employee Jailed After Stealing Over $ 1 Million

A former Canterbury DHB employee who defrauded the organization and spent the money on gambling and a lavish lifestyle was sentenced to three years in prison.

The Serious Fraud Office found multiple fraudulent transactions between January 2013 and August 2018 in the amount of $ 1,062,973.

The former administrator, who was in her early 50s and has since left DHB, admitted to the SFO in March 2019, took money from CDHB, diverted patients’ cash to their personal bank accounts, and caused patients to deposit funds. directly on your.

He also created a company to act as a “clearing house” for the stolen funds.

He pleaded guilty to a representative fraud count in August 2019.

Despite initially claiming that the money was used to fund a gambling addiction, it emerged in court that only a quarter of the money was actually used for gambling. The stolen money was also used to finance cosmetic surgeries in Thailand, gifts for the woman’s family and a jet ski. High-interest loans were also canceled.

The court heard that many of the people who unknowingly gave him money were from abroad or spoke limited English.

Before sentencing, Crown Prosecutor Mark Zerifah said the crime involved premeditation to the highest degree and considerable sophistication.

“Planned and repeated dishonesty for financial gain is a serious crime,” Zerifah said.

The crime was also “undermining the public’s trust in the CDHB.”

Defense attorney Phil Shamy said the woman had shown remorse.

“The defendant attended a voluntary interview without hesitation and freely admitted what had happened,” he said.

“She has cooperated as much as she can.”

Remorse and cooperation aside, Shamy told the court that the woman’s early guilty plea and lack of prior convictions had to be taken into account.

Judge Tom Gilbert said there was an “element of greed” in his crime and little chance of getting the money back.

She was sentenced to three years in prison.

The woman was granted provisional name deletion.

CDHB Acting Executive Director Dr. Andrew Brant said after sentencing that he was “extremely disappointed” that a former staff member had been accused of false accounting.

“When employed by DHB, the staff member was responsible for communicating with individuals and, at times, their insurance companies to arrange for payment for health care services provided to individuals in Canterbury who are not eligible to receive publicly funded health care. “

When the concerns were first raised, he said, DHB’s internal audit team found signs of fraudulent activity.

The woman was suspended, the police notified and a third party launched an investigation.

It was recommended that the DHB improve its internal controls to manage the income of patients who were not eligible for healthcare services in New Zealand.

“Several changes were made,” Brant said.

“We have ensured that no patient has out-of-pocket expenses as a result of the individual’s actions, and we are working with our insurers regarding the loss incurred by DHB.”