‘Fake doctor’ paid over £1m by NHS after forging her degree, court hears
An alleged fraudulent “fake doctor” is said to have been paid over £1million by the NHS after she forged her degree, a court has heard.
Zholia Alemi, believed to be 60, allegedly forged the document and handed it to Manchester-based General Medical Council in 1995 along with a forged letter of verification, the court heard.
Alemi, from Burnley, is accused of two offences of forgery, two offences of using a false instrument, three offences of obtaining a pecuniary advantage of deception, as well as 13 offences of fraud by false representation.
All 20 of the offences were denied by Alemi during her trial at Manchester Crown Court.
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Christopher Stables, prosecuting, noted that two documents were allegedly falsified, a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Science (MBChB) degree from 1992 as well as a verification letter written by Faculty Registrar from the University of Auckland.
Alemi is said to have applied for doctor registration in the UK through the Commonwealth Route.
Prosecutor Stables said: “As you will see, the defendant has held posts and has been paid as a doctor by health trusts and authorities across the length and breadth of the country.
“A conservative estimate as to the total amount, in terms of the money fraudulently obtained by the defendant from the NHS, is somewhere between £1 million and £1.3 million.”
The prosecution continued: “The certificate says that she graduated in May 1992. In truth, in May 1992, she had only been on the 3 year course for 2 months of the first year. She decided to achieve by forgery what she had failed to achieve by academic study.”
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“In reality, this defendant was at all times posing as a psychiatrist despite not having a medical degree.”
Mr Stables said police searched a home owned by Alemi in Omagh, Northern Ireland, and discovered a briefcase in an understairs cupboard containing part of a “forger’s kit”, including dry transfer letters and documents which he suggested were practice versions of a forged certificate.
The defence told the jury that Alemi’s had been appropriately qualified at all times and that the documents representing such claims were genuine.
Alemi has denied all offences, and the trial is set to last a further five weeks.