High Wycombe man jailed for defrauding GP Practice
Nabeel Asghar's been jailed for 3 years
Last updated 8th Apr 2024
A man, who worked as a Practice Manager of a High Wycombe GP surgery, has been jailed for 3 years for defrauding the practice.
43-year-old Nabeel Asghar, of Brands Hill, High Wycombe, worked as Practice Manager at Hughenden Valley Surgery in Valley Road in November 2021.
He had his contract terminated in March 2023 on the grounds of gross misconduct.
During his time at the surgery practice, Asghar managed the day-to-day running of the surgery, as well as the finances.
Between May 2022 and February 2023, an additional five unauthorised payments were made to Asghar, as salary payments to himself, in addition to his legitimate salary.
The payments totalled £25,159.35.
Thames Valley Police say Asghar also set up a bank account in the name of NS Medical. Using this account between March 2022 and March 2023, he paid the Locum Superintendent Pharmacist at the surgery her legitimate invoices, whilst forging new invoices under the pharmacist’s name and charging Hughenden Valley Surgery inflated fees.
Asghar kept the difference in the value of the invoices for his own benefit.
A total of 14 occasions mean Asghar reached financial benefits of £44,182.67.
His total gain from the fraud practices were £69,342.02.
Asghar was sentenced to three years in prison at Aylesbury Crown Court.
Senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Duncan Wynn of the Central Fraud Unit, said: “Nabeel Asghar abused the trust placed in him by his employers to systematically defraud the NHS of a substantial amount of money purely for his personal gain.
“His offences were sophisticated and pre meditated in nature involving the setting up of other bank accounts to facilitate the fraudulent activity, which was carried out over a sustained period of time.
“Wrongly, fraud is often seen as a victimless crime. In this case precious public funds were stolen and this effects everyone.
“This conviction and subsequent sentence shows how seriously these offences are taken by the courts and sends a clear message that Thames Valley Police will relentlessly pursue fraud suspects and bring them to justice.”