Brent NHS manager given suspended jail term for fraud

Rachel Scarlett gave classes in blood taking while she should have been working for the NHS

An NHS manager involved in a �20,000 fraud has been given a suspended jail term.

Harrow Crown Court heard how Rachel Scarlett of Verney Street, Neasden, was trained in the taking of blood.

But while she should have been working for the NHS she ran illicit classes teaching members of the public how to take blood, pocketing �250 per client.

The 42 year-old tricked her clients into thinking the course was approved by NHS Brent and would end up in a job by handing out certificates which contained Trust stamps.

She was arrested by officers from the Brent Fraud Unit in September 2009.

Detective Constable Dax Hollick from the Priority Crime Unit at Brent said: “This case was very unique and involved a multi agency approach in order to secure a conviction.

“Rachel Scarlett blatantly ignored the rules within the NHS and took it upon herself to defraud innocent members of the public and provide them with fraudulent certificates which she created on her home computer.

“The scale of this fraud escalated and took over 18 months of hard work and dedication to get it to crown court. I would like to thank the witnesses who came forward to report this and would also urge any members of the public who have been trained by Rachel Scarlett to speak to the NHS at Brent urgently.”

Scarlett was handed an eight month suspended sentence for two years for six counts of fraud by false representation.

She was also given 150 hours unpaid community service and told to pay compensation of �250 to each of the six victims plus �500 court costs.