Thursday 31st July, 2014

A former head of financial accounting at an NHS Trust in East Sussex who defrauded the NHS of £2.2 million has been sentenced to 5 years and 4 months imprisonment at Blackfriars Crown Court.

Trevor Cosson, pleaded guilty to defrauding Hastings and Rother Primary Care Trust (PCT) and East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT.

He used the money to buy an extensive portfolio of eleven properties in East Sussex and London.

The fraud was discovered after a restructure of the PCTs where Trevor Cosson had previously worked. An internal audit revealed suspicious payments of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Cosson manipulated the internal payments systems of both of the PCTs he worked for. Standing orders were set up in the name of regular suppliers but the payments were actually credited to bank accounts controlled by Cosson.

Between 2008 and 2011 Cosson authorised £810,000 worth of standing order payments, and £1.4m worth of payments between 2011 and 2012 via an internal payments system.

Sue Frith, Head of the National Investigation Service at NHS Protect said,

"Mr Cosson’s dishonesty resulted in the theft of over £2m from two local health bodies. He abused his position of trust so that he could live a lifestyle that he could not afford. Stealing from the NHS is not a victimless crime as this money could have been used to provide healthcare locally. The sentence reflects the seriousness of Cosson’s crime and will act as a deterrent to others."