Four tech conmen who scammed the NHS out of £6 million cost the public purse more than £500,000 in legal aid as they tried to avoid prison. The cash handed over to help the wealthy scammers fight their court case was branded a “shocking” waste of money by Labour’s Jackie Baillie, at a time when public services are desperate for funding.
The Convictions and Sentences
Telecoms firm directors Adam Sharoudi, 43, and Gavin Brown, 48, and NHS chiefs Alan Hush, 69, and 61-year-old Gavin Cox were found guilty last year following a major, decade-long probe into the award of lucrative health board contracts. The investigation was first revealed by the Daily Record after an NHS counter-fraud team swooped on Ayrshire-based Oricom’s offices in Irvine in 2015. They were jailed for a total of 29 years last June but each had their sentences cut by 12 months this May following an appeal.
Legal Aid Details
Now, after a judge described the crimes as a “planned, concerted and… directed at the public purse”, the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) has confirmed that the funding paid to lawyers acting for Oricom’s two former directors and two NHS IT bosses has hit £552,537 – with Scotland’s taxpayers having to stump up. The total cost in legal aid paid to solicitors and counsel for Hush’s case was £184,689. Cox’s case cost £215,948. Sharoudi’s bill was £38,462, while Brown’s legal fees amounted to £113,438.
A SLAB spokeswoman said: “Everyone accused of a crime has the right to a fair trial, and legal representation is central to protecting that right. This highly complex and lengthy prosecution involved multiple accused individuals and a significant volume of evidence, to ensure the jury reached an appropriate verdict. Cases of this nature inevitably result in substantial costs.”
How the Scam Worked
Brown and Sharoudi used their connections with NHS telecoms bosses Cox and Hush to obtain lucrative telecoms contracts between 2010 and 2017. An investigation found Hush and Cox gave the firm “commercially sensitive information” in return for £88,000 worth of cash, gifts and holidays. A mammoth 16-week trial heard the group’s crimes were uncovered after the theft of two NHS-issued mobile phones, which led to thousands of text messages and emails being discovered on multiple laptops, computers and mobiles.
One text exchange between Sharoudi and Hush, who was described in court as “the big cheese” in his department, detailed how the NHS manager wanted to “earn some commission”. The High Court in Glasgow heard how Oricom, founded in a garden shed in 2008 by Brown, “acquired, used and possessed” a total of £5,719,244 of “criminal property” paid for by NHS Lothian, NHS Grampian, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Ayrshire and Arran. One contract was worth more than £3 million.
Appeals and Reactions
The first sentencing judge, Lord Arthurson, said the men had been “self-serving, arrogant and mendacious” in their evidence and they had “subverted public trust in NHS management”. Lawyers for Sharoudi and Hush argued on appeal that their crimes were part of a single course of behaviour, saying Lord Arthurson was wrong to give them separate prison sentences to be served one after the other. Lawyers for Brown said his sentence was excessive because he had received the same overall term as Sharoudi and Hush despite not being convicted of a charge of fraud. Lord Arthurson had decided when sentencing Cox that his actions were less serious than his accomplices’. His lawyers argued his sentence should also be reduced if the other three men were successful in their appeals.
In a written judgment, judge Lord Ericht and his colleague Lady Carmichael agreed with submissions made by the defence lawyers. They reduced Sharoudi and Hush’s sentences from eight years to seven. Brown had his sentence cut to six years, while Cox had his term cut to five years. The Record previously told how Oricom lawyers tried to gag this paper and threatened us with court action after we approached them over allegations of bribery in 2017, claiming the firm had “acted professionally and legally” in all its dealings with health boards.
Political Condemnation
Opposition political parties last night slammed the legal aid payout to the wealthy tech bosses. Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie said: “This is a deeply concerning incident and the waste of public money is nothing short of shocking. We need answers as to why these four individuals were allowed legal aid and we need to know what efforts are being made to recover losses.” Scottish LibDem justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey said: “I hope the Scottish Legal Aid Board was rigorous in assessing eligibility for support. These men appear to have been wealthy before they turned to crime so it would be frustrating if they have managed to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes.”
