Update: The gang who tried to defraud public bodies of £1.8m

Haer and Ajibade were jailed for five years while McColl, Kirkwood and Downes will all serve two-and-half years.

Kulbinder Rai, 34, of Warwick, will be sentenced at a later date.

The gang attempted to defraud public bodies of £1.8m, of which £478K was attempted fraud against the NHS.

The gang operated by contacting NHS Trusts which were advertising vacancies in health magazines and journals. Gang members would pose as employees of bogus publications, which had names similar to genuine publications, and attempt to obtain signed orders reproducing the adverts in their own publications.

Forms that requested a signature to approve the advert’s content were faxed to NHS Trusts – but these were in fact booking forms.

Once signed and returned, NHS Trusts would receive an invoice demanding payment.

Mick Hayes, anti-fraud lead, said “This gang attempted to defraud NHS Trusts of thousands of pounds through a sustained campaign of misrepresentation and mis-selling.

“This was a serious crime and the custodial sentence should act as warning to those who intend to defraud the NHS.”

Acting Det Sgt Hema Chauhan, who led the three-year investigation for Warwickshire Police, said: “This was a particularly difficult investigation because of the number of victims, rogue companies and defendants involved. I am extremely pleased that justice has been served for the 1,000 plus victims, most of whom were unaware of the fraud until they were contacted.

“A message has been sent out from us and all the agencies involved that we will robustly investigate all criminality.”