A United Kingdom court has convicted a Nigerian woman, Oluwabunmi Adeleiyi, for fraud after she used forged identification documents to secure employment within the National Health Service.
Adeleiyi, 30, who was living in Cardiff on a student visa, was found to have worked illegally as a healthcare support worker at Neath Port Talbot Hospital and the Caswell Clinic in Bridgend.
Prosecutors told the Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday that the defendant carried out the fraud alongside two accomplices by sharing counterfeit identity cards to obtain shifts through recruitment agencies.
The scheme, the court heard, allowed the trio to unlawfully bill the NHS to the tune of about £16,000 every month.
Adeleiyi pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation.
She was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently.
However, the court suspended the jail term for two years and ordered her to complete 100 hours of unpaid community service.
The prosecution said the fraud was uncovered after hospital staff noticed irregularities on Adeleiyi’s identification card at the end of a night shift.
Further investigations revealed that she lacked formal training in patient restraint but still gained access to sensitive patient records and restricted wards, raising serious concerns about patient safety, according to health authorities.