Four jailed over 'outrageous' £6m NHS contract fraud

Four men have been jailed over a £6m NHS contract fraud described as "outrageous" by investigators. Gavin Brown and Adam Sharoudi used their connections with senior health service employees Gavin Cox and Alan Hush to obtain lucrative telecoms contracts between 2010 and 2017. An investigation into Oricom Ltd, established by Brown and Sharoudi, found Hush and Cox gave the firm "commercially sensitive information" in return for £88,000 worth of cash, gifts and holidays. Oricom directors Brown, 48, and Sharoudi, 41, were jailed for seven and eight years respectively, while Hush, 68, and Cox, 60, were jailed for eight and six years. Sentencing, Lord Arthurson said each of the men were "self-serving, arrogant and mendacious", adding they had "subverted public trust in NHS management". The group's crimes were only 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. A 16-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow heard Oricom did "acquire, use and possess" a total of £5,719,244 of "criminal property" paid for by NHS Lothian, NHS Grampian, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as well as NHS Ayrshire and Arran. One single contract was worth £3.1m, the trial was told. Oricom's offices were raided by investigators from NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services in 2015 following concerns into how the deals were secured. Brown founded Oricom in a shed in Irvine, Ayrshire in 2008 and Sharoudi later joined as a director. Sharoudi became friends with Hush, who was telecommunications manager at NHS Lothian and then NHS Scotland video conferencing manager. A text exchange between Sahroudi and Hush, who was described during the trial as "the big cheese in the NHS telecoms department, showed how the NHS manager wanted to "earn some commission". Hush claimed that had been a joke and any money he received had come from his late father. But the court found he "ferreted about" in a "deception" to obtain false "dodgy" quotes to help the firm get the lucrative business. In return he was handed Eurostar train tickets, stays at the Troy and Re Hotels in London, a laptop, an iPad, meals, and concert tickets to see Paul Simon, Rufus Wainwright and Patti Smith for his part in helping Oricom secure the contracts. Cox, of Cathcart, Glasgow was head of IT and infrastructure at NHS Lanarkshire. He denied giving Oricom the "heads up" with information to give them a "commercial advantage" to secure business. It was suggested it was "not a level playing field" for other bidders. Brown had been a guest at Cox's surprise 50th birthday party. His "rewards" were said to include hospitality at the Scottish Grand National at Ayr, a night at the Loch Green Hotel in Troon and a meal at Elliots in Prestwick. Jurors heard he also got thousands of pounds worth of Barrhead Travel holiday vouchers which allowed him to go on trips to New York and Lanzarote. Cox said he believed they were gifts to his wife – a newspaper advertising manager – from Brown's partner who she had become friends with. He also denied ever getting a series of cash handouts from Oricom. He used some of the money he was given to pay for an "extension and landscaping" at a property in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, which he claimed had been paid for using an inheritance from his father. In total, Hush was given £18,231 of cash bungs and gifts, while Cox was handed more than £70,000. Brown also knew another NHS Lanarkshire telecoms official who has since died. Among the charges was one that Oricom in effect bribed him to secure work including a near £700,000 deal. The company is still trading. Gordon Young, head of NHS Scotland counter-fraud services, described their actions as "outrageous". He said: "They were in a position of trust within the NHS and they have manipulated the procurement process for their own benefit. "We hear every single day from politicians and from people that work in the service about how hard folk are working to try and keep things going. "The vast majority of NHS workers are honest hardworking people who have only got their patients and their services best interest at heart, but these individuals have taken advantage of the system for their own benefit." Unison Scotland's head of health, Matt McLaughlin, said the case was an indictment of the "lack of resources" put into countering fraud within the health service. He said: "Politicians for years have been talking about cutting backroom services, cutting backroom staff to make efficiencies. "I think the use of private money and private companies in the NHS and in the wider public sector present opportunities for people to behave in this way. "And that's why we need strong procurement systems. I think it's absolutely right for the public to be angry and concerned." A Scottish government spokesperson said steps had been taken to "strengthen oversight and accountability" across NHS Boards They added: "We have reviewed procurement practices and moving toward a single national framework for business conduct to support fraud prevention and deliver greater accountability, as recommended in the Cumberlege Review. "We will ensure that Scotland's NHS continues to uphold the highest standards of public service and transparency, and that the lessons of this case are learned from."