Nurse Sentenced Over £25k Fraud

A bank nurse from Trillick, Omagh, has been handed a one-year prison sentence, suspended for three years, for falsely claiming £25,000 from her employers.

27-year-old Kimberly Jameson, or Castlehill Road, was sentenced at Dungannon Crown Court.

Ms Jameson was found guilty of false representation, after it was discovered she had submitted timesheets claiming for hours not worked between 5 August 2009 and 31 August 2010. The total amount falsely claimed was just short of £25,000.

Ms Jameson pleaded guilty on 2 December 2013 and was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for three years.

Mark Harvey, Head of CFPS, spokesperson for the Business Services Organisation said: "Fraud includes a wide variety of activity, from mis-claiming travel expenses or falsifying hours worked on a timesheet to more serious crimes, such as bribery and corruption or money laundering.

"Fraud, on any level, is completely unacceptable as it can have a direct impact on the level of resources available for delivering frontline services to patients."

Mr Harvey continued: "The Counter Fraud and Probity Services is fully committed to working with colleagues across the Health and wider Public Service to root out fraud and protect scarce public resources. This is in line with the Health Minister’s commitment to ensuring the best quality and value health and social care services for Northern Ireland.

"Our specialist fraud team carry out rigorous investigations into cases of suspected criminality involving health service funds. Perpetrators face a range of sanctions, ranging from criminal prosecution and financial recovery of funds involved, to being referred to their professional bodies. Funds recovered can be diverted to support the delivery of frontline patient services."

(IT/MH)