Fake nurse from Dudley jailed after stealing identity and working in care homes for 4 years
Ashton Guramatunhu earned more than £170,000 using another nurse’s identity
A man who pretended to be a registered nurse by stealing another person’s identity has been sentenced to prison.
Ashton Guramatunhu, 46, of Middlepark Road in Dudley, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, 2 December, where he received a 40-month jail term. He had previously admitted to a charge of fraud by false representation.
The court was told that in late 2014, Guramatunhu signed up with a nursing agency in Warrington, using the credentials of a legitimate nurse to obtain work.
From 1 January 2015 to 5 April 2019, he secured shifts at six nursing homes across the northeast of England, earning an estimated £172,920.94 through his deception.
Suspicions were raised in January 2019 when the real nurse was contacted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council about an incident at a care home he had never worked in.
The matter was reported to Cleveland Police, prompting an investigation. In 2020, the case was handed to Cheshire Police after it was discovered that Guramatunhu had been registered through an agency based in Warrington.
Following the sentencing Detective Constable Naomi Sargent, who led the investigation said:
“Guramatunhu should never have been working as a nurse. While he had been to university, his previous convictions meant that he was not suitable to work in the care sector.
“He put the lives of innocent patients at risk, purely for his own financial gain, and I have no doubt that he would have continued his offending had he not been arrested.
“The sentence handed to him by the court reflects the severity of his actions and I hope that it acts as a warning to others.
“I would like to take this as an opportunity to thank all of the officers who have been involved in the investigation, including colleagues at Cleveland, Northumbria and Durham Police, along with staff from our Economic Crime Unit who all played key roles in helping to bring Guramatunhu to justice."