A conman who was previously jailed for posing as a doctor has been sent to prison for a second time today (Thursday 12 January) after he admitted lying about his medical qualifications again.
Conrad de Souza, 57, of Fulham, was sentenced to 17 months in prison following a prosecution brought by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division.
De Souza pleaded guilty to six charges of fraud on the first day of his trial at Croydon Crown Court in December 2016. He admitted falsifying his employment history and qualifications in an attempt to secure senior health roles with a variety of public bodies.
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.”
This prosecution followed an investigation by the fraud team at NHS Protect.
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Notes to Editors
De Souza admitted six counts of fraud, contrary to the Fraud Act 2006:
· 24 September 2013 - made false representations about his employment and qualifications to the Office for Public Management for the post of Fellow in Health.
· 31 October 2013 - made false representations about his previous convictions, employment and qualifications to Slough Borough Council for the post of Head of Service, Care Commissioning Group.
· 6 February 2014 - made false representations about his employment and qualifications to Windsor, Ascot & Maidenhead Clinical Commissioning Group and to C4H Resourcing for the post of interim Director of Development Commissioning.
· 6-12 June 2014 - made false representations about his convictions, employment and qualifications to Surrey Health Clinical Commissioning Group and to C4H Resourcing for the post of Transformation Programme Manager.
· 27 June 2014 - made false representations about his employment and qualifications to the Office for Public Management for the post of Consultant in Health.
· 12 August 2013-26 May 2014 - made eight representations about his qualifications and employment to the recruitment agency Dearden Interim.
De Souza’s 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 knew when he applied for the roles it was an essential requirement in these roles to have a degree and clinical specialisms, but held neither.
