Emmanuel Nbanga, a former materials management assistant at Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, Worcestershire, has been convicted of fraud after stealing £279,000 worth of operating theatre equipment and selling it back to the NHS trust that employed him.
How the fraud operated
Between October 2016 and September 2019, Nbanga, 45, from Solihull, West Midlands, stole medical supplies from operating theatre stock rooms at the hospital. He passed the items to Solomon Adeyemi, 57, of Birmingham, who was the director of Ultimate Medical (UK) Ltd (UML) based in Tyseley, Birmingham. UML then sold the items back to the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, sometimes three or four times.
Nbanga was convicted of fraud by abuse of position and fraudulent trading at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday. Adeyemi was convicted of fraudulent trading, while Remilekun Olusesi, 40, of Solihull, was convicted of money laundering through the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property. All three will be sentenced at a later date.
Discovery of the scheme
The trust became suspicious when it started a tendering process for medical supplies and noticed that UML was selling at unusually low prices. Staff also recognised identification numbers on delivered items that matched those of items previously ordered and delivered.
Dave Horsley from the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) said: “The more they looked the more it unravelled.” He described the case as shocking “especially since the stock... was intended for operations on patients”.
Financial impact and patient safety
An investigation found that funds paid by the trust into UML’s business account were redirected to Lawyis Medical UK Ltd, a shell company set up by Olusesi, and to personal accounts of all three defendants. Some of the stock supplied was not fit for purpose and had to be identified and removed from circulation to ensure patient safety.
Stephen Collman, managing director of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This was an extensive and sustained programme of fraud which cost the NHS hundreds of thousands of pounds. It was made all the worse by the fact that it was carried out by NHS staff members abusing their positions of trust.”
Legal consequences
Both Nbanga and Adeyemi were remanded in custody as the judge considered them a flight risk. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stated that Nbanga abused his position of trust, stealing stock intended for medical operations and purchasing it back from UML, along with other items that did not conform to medical device regulations. Gayle Ramsay, Specialist Prosecutor of the CPS, said: “Nbanga held a position of responsibility and trust... He abused this trust and stole hard pressed taxpayer money for selfish and greedy purposes.”
Horsley added that aside from the financial impact, such cases could mean “people’s trust in the NHS is compromised”.
