A fraudster has been sent to prison for trying to lie his way back into the UK's National Health Service (NHS). BBC News reports that Conrad de Souza, 57, admitted he lied about his qualifications again. He was sentenced to 17 months in prison after pleading guilty to six charges of fraud in December 2016.
The report says De Souza, who never completed medical school, was previously jailed in 2011 for claiming he was a doctor to get clinical strategy roles. He was caught for the second time following a special investigation by the fraud team at NHS Protect. He admitted falsifying his employment history and qualifications in an attempt to secure senior health roles with a variety of public bodies between 2013 and 2014.
Arslan Khan, specialist prosecutor from the CPS Specialist Fraud Division, said: "The prosecution built a case which showed how Conrad de Souza lied time and again in order to attempt to secure a number of senior health roles.
"De Souza carried on telling these lies despite a previous conviction and prison sentence for similar fraudulent behaviour. Faced with the evidence against him, he pleaded guilty."
The report says his previous conviction related to his employment with Lewisham Primary Care Trust between 2001 and 2010, during which he received more than £329,000 of NHS money in fraudulently obtained earnings.
He had enrolled at the University of London medical school in 1980 but never graduated.
De Souza was jailed for more than two-and-a-half years in 2011, the report says.
[link url="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-38599673"]BBC News report[/link]