A 46-year-old man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for posing as a registered nurse and fraudulently obtaining over £170,000 in wages.
Deception Uncovered After Years of Fraud
Ashton Guramatunhu, of Middlepark Road in Dudley, was sentenced to 40 months at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday. He had previously pleaded guilty to a single count of fraud by false representation.
The court heard how his elaborate deception began in late 2014. Guramatunhu registered with a nursing agency in Warrington, but he did so using the identity and credentials of a legitimate, registered nurse to secure employment.
A Lengthy Fraud Across Multiple Care Homes
Using this stolen identity, Guramatunhu then gained work at six different nursing homes located in the northeast of England. His fraudulent employment spanned a period of more than four years, from 1 January 2015 to 5 April 2019.
According to Cheshire Police, his illicit earnings during this time totalled an estimated £172,921.
The scam finally began to unravel in January 2019. The genuine nurse, whose identity had been stolen, was contacted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council regarding an incident and a fitness to practise investigation at a care home where he had never worked.
Police Investigation and Strong Condemnation
This alarming report was made to Cleveland Police, who launched an investigation. The case was later transferred to Cheshire Police in 2020 after it was established that Guramatunhu had been registered with the agency in Warrington.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Naomi Sargent, the officer who led the investigation, issued a stern rebuke. She stated that Guramatunhu should never have been working in a nursing role.
"While he had been to university, his previous convictions meant that he was not suitable to work in the care sector," DC Sargent said. "He put the lives of innocent patients at risk, purely for his own financial gain, and I have no doubt that he would have continued his offending had he not been arrested."
She concluded that the 40-month sentence reflected the severity of his actions and should serve as a clear warning to others considering similar fraudulent activity.
