Thomas Elrick tried to use his dead wife’s email account to cover his tracks (Image: SWNS)
Fraudster Thomas Elrick stole more than ￡500,000 from the NHS using fake invoices then blew the money on his lavish lifestyle.
Elrick, 56, even tried to use his dead wife’s email account to cover his tracks, a court has heard.
He was working as a NHS admin manager when he put through hundreds of thousands of pounds in dodgy claims for care which never happened.
Over two years he authorised payments totalling ￡564,484 to a fake company and paid into a bank account registered to himself.
He was the sole approver of the invoices and no services were delivered for the firm called Tree of Andre Therapy Services Limited.
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Elrick was assistant managing director for planned and unscheduled care at Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in north west London when he carried out the scam between August 2018 and December 2020.
As part of his role with the CCG, he had the authority to approve invoices up to ￡50,000.
To cover up his scheme, an email was sent to Harrow CCG in June 2020 claiming to be from Tree of Andre, providing anonymised patient details where care was provided.
The email was sent from the email address of Carolyn Platt, Elrick’s wife who had died eight years earlier.
His fraud was exposed when a colleague queried invoices and found Tree of Andre was not registered on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website.
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Elrick appeared at Harrow Crown Court (pictured) (Image: PA Images)
Checks were carried out and searches online could not find any website for the Tree of Andre company and the firm was shown as dormant on Companies House records.
An investigation revealed another company, also registered at the same address, called Vesuvius Business Management Limited.
It was found that the Vesuvius company name and address matched billing data held at the CCG for Elrick.
Elrick’s home, in Motherwell, Scotland, was raided in November 2021 and he was arrested.
When he was interviewed Elrick gave a full and frank account, admitting to committing fraud and that Tree of Andre was a ghost company.
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He said his partner did not know he used their name to register the company.
The NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) said it is "extremely likely Mr Elrick will receive a lengthy prison sentence".
A spokesman for the NHSCFA said: "The money defrauded was used to enjoy the lifestyle he had become accustomed to and that he wanted more. The fraud had become an addiction and he was aware that he would be caught."
Elrick pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by abuse of position at Willesden Magistrates’ Court last month.
Elrick appeared at Harrow Crown Court for sentencing, but the case was adjourned for three weeks because he had no legal representation.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
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