0:00:02 > 0:00:03Welcome to Saints and Scroungers,
0:00:03 > 0:00:07the show that exposes benefit thieves, cheats and liars,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10but it does also unearth the people that genuinely need help.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14This is the front line in the battle against benefit fraud.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Saints And Scroungers is all about busting benefit thieves who steal millions every year,
0:00:42 > 0:00:49and it's about the crack teams of investigators determined to scupper their devious scams.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51We also shine a light on the saints,
0:00:51 > 0:00:54people committed to putting money into the pockets of those
0:00:54 > 0:00:58who deserve it and the people too proud or simply don't know how to claim
0:00:58 > 0:01:00what is rightfully theirs.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02And coming up on today's programme...
0:01:02 > 0:01:08An imposter steals an innocent woman's identity and lands herself a job as a nurse.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13It's just a really unsettling feeling to have somebody kind of, being you.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18And parent power, the saintly mums who help each other cope with their children's disability.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21You call their name and they don't even look round.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24You give them a kiss and it makes them cry.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29The impact of identity fraud is massive and it can take years
0:01:29 > 0:01:32to sort out the mess it makes of people's lives.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Sadly, the victims don't know about it until it's too late
0:01:35 > 0:01:36and the damage has already been done.
0:01:41 > 0:01:47Identity theft can strike anyone at any time and the perpetrators can be the most unlikely people.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Meet nurse, Kate McDowell-Foord.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Originally from Ghana, Kate worked for the NHS for seven years.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04She was given a £40,000 bursary to fund a university degree course,
0:02:04 > 0:02:09so she could move up from the position of health care worker, to staff nurse.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13And according to reports, she was good at her job,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17even appearing on the front cover of a health trust magazine.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20But that smile hid a sinister secret.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23She was in fact, an imposter.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Kate McDowell-Foord was operating
0:02:26 > 0:02:33under a stolen identity and had defrauded the NHS out of £270,000.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Theft of NHS money is a serious problem.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42So much so, they have their own dedicated counter-fraud department,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45headed up by Kevin Cane.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Being the UK's largest employer,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52and of course a lot of your staff coming from abroad as well,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55you must have a problem with identity fraud.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58It's an issue that we've discovered more and more in recent years.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03Obviously with the recent Immigration Act coming in in 2008,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05the NHS like any other employers
0:03:05 > 0:03:09are actually compelled to make more checks on all their employees now.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12This naturally leads to the identification of problems
0:03:12 > 0:03:15which then get referred to counter-fraud to deal with.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Because of the nature of your line of work
0:03:17 > 0:03:20and that a lot of people are coming in with credentials
0:03:20 > 0:03:23and qualifications from abroad, it must be an absolute nightmare.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Identity fraud in the UK is a recognised problem across the board.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30NHS is no exception. We have to deal with these because
0:03:30 > 0:03:34we've got illegal workers working for us and we can't tolerate that.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39Tell me about the lady that you thought was Kate McDowell-Foord.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42She was a trusted employee, there was no complaints about her work.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45On the face of it, to those she was working with, she appeared honest,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49but they didn't know she'd been acting in a dishonest fashion,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52deceiving them for seven years.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58And it's possible she would've continued to go undetected
0:03:58 > 0:04:01if it wasn't for a tip-off to the NHS fraud squad.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08In August 2009, counter-fraud specialist Peter Gorman
0:04:08 > 0:04:09received a phone call
0:04:09 > 0:04:13that was to prove the starting point of a massive investigation.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19On the end of the phone was Kate McDowell-Foord,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22except this lady was not the smiling Ghanaian nurse.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28It was a very worried British woman, who at the time was living in Dubai.
0:04:28 > 0:04:34She was convinced the nurse had stolen her identity.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39You see, her kids had punched her unusual name
0:04:39 > 0:04:42into the internet to see if they could find their mum,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44and a very different woman popped up on screen.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48My children showed me the photo of Kate McDowell-Foord
0:04:48 > 0:04:51and it was a very smiling black lady with her colleagues
0:04:51 > 0:04:56and it said Kate McDowell-Foord has worked in mental health for
0:04:56 > 0:05:00whatever borough it was of London for X years and is part of the team.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03I knew when I saw this other person with my name
0:05:03 > 0:05:06that it was completely impossible.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Hang on a second, am I missing something here?
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Let's be honest, we've all put our names on the internet to see what comes up and usually,
0:05:13 > 0:05:18it's a load of different people with the same name as us, so it's not exactly breaking news.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22And even the fraud investigator initially didn't think there was much to go on.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27At that particular time, there was no real evidence to say there was a problem.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30It was just probably her hunch.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Kate was adamant it was more than just a hunch,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37but why was she so convinced her identity had been stolen?
0:05:37 > 0:05:40My maiden name is McDowell and I married
0:05:40 > 0:05:43James Foord, with a double-O in Foord
0:05:43 > 0:05:49and that's completely unusual. We officially created McDowell-Foord through a legal route
0:05:49 > 0:05:54and everything, hyphenated it, much like an old tradition, just combined our names, really.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Therefore that was a completely one-off name.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00The likelihood that the name was unique
0:06:00 > 0:06:04promoted Peter to check the file of the NHS employee.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09A simple process of verifying the data we held on personnel files
0:06:09 > 0:06:13could establish if everything was correct.
0:06:13 > 0:06:19On the personnel file, other than the normal, historic appraisals
0:06:19 > 0:06:24and other documents, there is a copy of the employee's passport.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28This is the copy of the passport in the name of McDowell-Foord,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31along with a copy of the National Insurance card
0:06:31 > 0:06:35with the name of McDowell-Foord and her number.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39It appeared to be a valid British passport and significantly,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42the date of birth was different to that of the Kate who'd phoned in.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50It seemed the nurse could in fact be who she said she was.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58But for Kate, the seed of suspicion had been planted five years earlier,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01when a strange mix-up happened regarding her medical notes.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04I went to my doctor as one does and he said,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08"Why are you trying to switch boroughs?
0:07:08 > 0:07:11"It's becoming quite frustrating for them."
0:07:11 > 0:07:15Um, and I said, "Well, I'm not," and I thought...
0:07:15 > 0:07:18At the time, Kate was registered with a GP in south London,
0:07:18 > 0:07:23but a surgery in west London was repeatedly requesting the transfer
0:07:23 > 0:07:26of her medical notes for one of their patients,
0:07:26 > 0:07:31who was trying to register as Kate McDowell-Foord.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35But at the time, the notion of identity theft was furthest from her mind.
0:07:36 > 0:07:42Just didn't cross my mind that that would be the situation.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46I thought my doctor was getting his papers muddled and somebody was getting very muddled.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Frustrated at what Kate perceived to be an admin error,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52she took matters into her own hands.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57I decided then to phone the actual borough he was mentioning, just to see what was what.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00By chance, she was actually there at the desk.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03By an incredible twist of fate, the doctor in west London
0:08:03 > 0:08:10was in a surgery, sitting directly opposite Kate McDowell-Foord.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13The other Kate demanded more information
0:08:13 > 0:08:16about this woman and she immediately hit a brick wall.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Due to data protection, I couldn't do anything, I had no rights, nothing.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Well, that's rather disturbing...
0:08:25 > 0:08:29But it was noted by both surgeries the two women, although sharing identical names,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31had different dates of birth
0:08:31 > 0:08:35and then there was the issue of their different ethnicity.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38The fact that one Ms McDowell-Foord is a white lady
0:08:38 > 0:08:41and the fact that one McDowell-Foord was a black lady
0:08:41 > 0:08:44and the discrepancy in the dates of birth,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47it was deemed then that there wasn't any
0:08:47 > 0:08:50falseness or fraud at that stage
0:08:50 > 0:08:55and everyone just carried on as it was then.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Kate was disturbed by the bizarre coincidence,
0:08:58 > 0:09:03but her priority at the time was a big family move to another country.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Then, I think I dropped the whole thing and I moved to the Middle East
0:09:07 > 0:09:10and I thought it was obviously going to be a very cumbersome thing,
0:09:10 > 0:09:15which could conspire against me, you know, trying to solve anything, so I just let it go.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23But five years later and fired up by the website hit on the smiling nurse,
0:09:23 > 0:09:28Kate was determined to get to the truth, so she told the NHS investigator
0:09:28 > 0:09:32about the medical records mix-up that had happened a few years before.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37Ms McDowell-Foord pointed out that her medical records had been
0:09:37 > 0:09:40transferred to someone in west London,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42where her name was used.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46So, Peter agreed to dig a bit deeper.
0:09:46 > 0:09:53He turned his attention back to nurse McDowell-Foord's passport and he made a crucial discovery.
0:09:53 > 0:09:59Inquiries with the British passport UKBA established that in fact it was
0:09:59 > 0:10:01a passport that was reported missing,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04when it was dispatched in December 2000.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09Kate confirmed that some years ago, she had indeed reported a passport missing in the post.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14I applied for a passport under my married name and it never turned up.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17I got a second one sent to me, a replacement, and carried on.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20It may not have raised alarm bells at the time for Kate,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24but for Peter Gorman, this was a massive red flag.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29My suspicions now clearly raised that the documents held on file to this
0:10:29 > 0:10:33person's identity were not correct and warranted further investigation.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Years of experience in fraud told him that passports
0:10:40 > 0:10:43are one of the identity thieves' favourite documents.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48And hearing that one of Kate's had gone missing now sparked a full-scale investigation.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55And finally, Kate got the news she'd been hoping for.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59I contacted Ms Kate McDowell-Foord in Dubai,
0:10:59 > 0:11:05where she resided and pointed out that the information that she'd given
0:11:05 > 0:11:09had led to this part of the investigation to moving on and now a formal investigation
0:11:09 > 0:11:13was being undertaken by our department into the identity
0:11:13 > 0:11:17of this lady working in a position of trust within the NHS
0:11:17 > 0:11:21and how the circumstances had come about.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Peter's next stop was to get back in touch with the investigation
0:11:24 > 0:11:29department of the Passport Office to see if he could find out more.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32They confirmed that the passport had gone missing,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36had been issued to a white lady of the name Kate McDowell-Foord
0:11:36 > 0:11:42and that it carried the same passport number as Nurse McDowell's passport held on file.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46If it bore the picture of a black lady, which it did,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48there was something wrong with that passport.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53But what no-one could fathom was why nurse McDowell-Foord's passport
0:11:53 > 0:11:57had a different date of birth to the real Kate in Dubai.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02So was the celebrated NHS nurse a real person or an imposter?
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Later, a surprise raid reveals a shocking truth.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15This document clearly links her to organised criminal networks
0:12:15 > 0:12:18that are able to supply documents to commit fraud.
0:12:22 > 0:12:27From the scroungers ripping off the system to the people we call our saints,
0:12:27 > 0:12:32those individuals who help put money into the pockets of people in genuine need
0:12:32 > 0:12:38and the people too proud or who simply don't know how to claim what is rightfully due to them.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Hearing the news that a child has been diagnosed with autism
0:12:43 > 0:12:47would leave most parents feeling devastated and quite alone
0:12:47 > 0:12:50at a time that they need help and support the most.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53But what do you do when there's no help available?
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Debbie from Harlow is the mother of an autistic 11-year-old called Luke,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02and parents like her can often feel isolated.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Hiya. Debbie, nice to meet you.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06- Yes, and you, come in.- All right?
0:13:06 > 0:13:09- Shall I put the kettle on? - Tell me about the diagnosis.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13Something in the back of my mind kept saying, "There's something not right."
0:13:13 > 0:13:18I thought it was a hearing problem because a bus would go past him and he wouldn't even flinch.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22And a bee who I hadn't even heard would go past and he'd completely freak out.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27My sister-in-law actually is the one that said, "There's something not right about him,"
0:13:27 > 0:13:31because she works with deaf children so she'd met autistic children before.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Debbie's sister-in-law's suspicions proved to be correct.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39When Luke was two-and-a-half, a specialist confirmed a diagnosis of autism.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44When you heard those awful words, how did you cope?
0:13:44 > 0:13:48I felt very alone, I thought I was only person going through it.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Because there was no help, because they didn't say to me,
0:13:51 > 0:13:55"There's a support group," I just felt, "Where do you go from here?"
0:13:55 > 0:14:02Her friends suggested that Debbie attend a one-off parenting workshop run by Essex County Council,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06and she decided to go - a decision that would change everything.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Because it was there that Debbie would meet Sam,
0:14:11 > 0:14:16also a mother of autistic children.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21A lot of parents don't realise that they are entitled to benefits for their child
0:14:21 > 0:14:24to help with living costs, to help with any therapies they need.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34Feeling inspired, Debbie agreed to help Sam set up a dedicated local support group.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39They called it Parents of Autistic Children Together, or PACT Harlow.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41And they've never looked back.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47- How many parents are in it now? - Gosh, we've got probably
0:14:47 > 0:14:50well over 130 families that are involved with us.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Wow. This is something you've hit the nail on the head with.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Yeah, exactly. It's snowballed, especially over the last two or three years.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59We do events. We have support group meetings.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02We do awareness events and work with professionals and families.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06The organisation brings families together and it's a vital lifeline
0:15:06 > 0:15:10for parents who otherwise would have nowhere to turn.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13I didn't have anyone to say, "You know what?
0:15:13 > 0:15:16"You need to go here and ring this person and this is available."
0:15:16 > 0:15:22So for PACT, as we learned and as we found out about different services and organisations
0:15:22 > 0:15:27that we could tap into, we can then signpost other parents to those organisations.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29But it's not just parents who benefit.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32The children get just as much out of it.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Most of our children don't have close friendships.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39At school they may not have a best friend like we had when we were growing up.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43By the PACT children, as we call them, getting together,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46they get to know each other and they develop friendships.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50That's so important because they're learning life skills from each other.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55This is why I do PACT, I think. PACT Harlow is moving my life forward, my children's life forward.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57I'm learning, they're learning.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02The ultimate aim for me is for my children to be independent adults.
0:16:02 > 0:16:09Just like Sam, mum Rowan is also trying to secure a better future for her four-year-old son Oak.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Like many autistic children, he has great difficulty communicating.
0:16:15 > 0:16:22I can't describe what it's like when you have your child that you love so intensely, so deeply,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25and yet you can't reach them and they don't want you to cuddle them.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29You know, you call their name and they don't even look round.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32You try and give them a kiss and it makes them cry.
0:16:32 > 0:16:38Desperate to help Oak, Rowan and her husband Eric decided to take a punt on a new technique,
0:16:38 > 0:16:44and it involves getting up close and personal to horses on a special weekend retreat.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Oak initially went up by himself, then he went up with Eric.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52They use special saddles where you can sit two of you on.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57I think that works really well because then you're holding them tightly.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Quite often kids with autism like that tight sort of hug.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Then Oak that weekend started talking, which is just...
0:17:03 > 0:17:06It sounds like I'm making it up but it was just phenomenal.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09He came out with 20 words that weekend.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14To hear him say words again, it was just so emotional. Fabulous.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Our lives turned at that point.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22Inspired, they set about arranging a group day out to a local stables,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26but Debbie was worried that her 11-year-old autistic son Luke would hate the experience.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28He was standing back and looking.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30I took him down where it was quiet
0:17:30 > 0:17:33and there was a horse in one of the pens.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36This horse was a bit grumpy and just pacing up and down.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Luke paced with this horse and just walked up and down with him.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41- In harmony with each other?- Yes.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Then all of a sudden the horse stopped and got right close
0:17:44 > 0:17:49to the fence, and Luke put his hand through and then pulled it out again.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Then the horse just stayed there, quite calm.
0:17:51 > 0:17:57Then Luke got his head right under, put his arms right round the horse and snuggled his face in.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01And this horse was really grumpy, having a bad day in the office?
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Yes, wouldn't let anyone near it.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05I was filming it, thinking, "Oh, my God."
0:18:05 > 0:18:09- Then this lovely moment that he embraced this horse.- They bonded?
0:18:09 > 0:18:10Yeah, it was beautiful.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19The group are meeting today to discuss
0:18:19 > 0:18:23how to provide all the PACT Harlow children regular access to horses.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28You need someone whose daughter has left home and they're left with a horse,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30a lovely horse, a family horse.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Shall we buy a horse? We could do that.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37This organisation really does have the power to change people's lives for the better.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42And what started out as an informal support group is now growing very quickly.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47We're so proud of where we are. Once we have our charity status we can get proper funding
0:18:47 > 0:18:50to do the things we want to do, because we do want to make a difference.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52PACT, for us,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56has given us a wider circle of friends.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59It's just knowing that if there's a problem,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01there's someone there that understands.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03PACT is who I am, really.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07It comes from the heart. It is hard work but then if we don't do this,
0:19:07 > 0:19:12I don't think the opportunities would be out there for the children.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14Oh! All gone!
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Not only has this group faced head-on the struggle to find help for their kids,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22but they've also used their experiences to help others in a similar situation.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26For me, that makes them incredibly inspiring.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Back now to the world of the scrounger, and the nurse
0:19:34 > 0:19:38who was suspected of stealing another woman's identity.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Kate McDowell-Foord discovered that somebody else was using her name.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44That's a name she thought was unique.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Coincidence or something more sinister?
0:19:47 > 0:19:51Well, the NHS counter-fraud team were looking into it to try and find out more.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59Identity theft is bad enough, but seriously, an imposter nurse
0:19:59 > 0:20:03in a position of trust, responsible for life-and-death decisions?
0:20:03 > 0:20:04It doesn't bear thinking about.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Yes, she's taken a qualification.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08She's working in an NHS hospital.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12I don't know, but there may have been other motives for why this has taken place,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14because we don't know who this person is
0:20:14 > 0:20:18and we don't know why she's undertaken the action that she has.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22That's why it is so crucially important to be on top of this, isn't it?
0:20:22 > 0:20:28Absolutely. What you've also got to look at is, however good her work record might have been,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32you've actually got somebody who's proven to be dishonest.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36If this nurse is proved to be an imposter,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40then not only have patients potentially been at risk for the past seven years,
0:20:40 > 0:20:45but she's also dishonestly claimed £230,000 in earnings
0:20:45 > 0:20:48and pilfered a £40,000 training bursary.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52She had to be stopped.
0:20:52 > 0:20:58The investigation had so far focused on a copy of her passport held on the nurse's personnel file.
0:20:58 > 0:21:04The passport number exactly matched the one that the real Kate McDowell-Foord had reported
0:21:04 > 0:21:06missing in the post ten years ago,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08but the thing is, it had a different date of birth.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13Going back to 2000, when Ms McDowell-Foord
0:21:13 > 0:21:18applied for her new passport, her new husband completed the form.
0:21:18 > 0:21:24And it appears now that the date of birth for Ms McDowell-Foord
0:21:24 > 0:21:27was entered incorrectly.
0:21:27 > 0:21:35And Ms McDowell-Foord was born in April 1966, and he put down she was born in June 1966.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38So the new passport issued that went missing from the UKPA
0:21:38 > 0:21:45bore the date of birth of June 1966, which as a result from then on
0:21:45 > 0:21:51gave some degree of legitimacy to the false McDowell-Foord,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54because it was a different date of birth now on all the records.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00Unbelievable. If Kate's new husband had got her date of birth correct
0:22:00 > 0:22:04in the first place, the identity theft may have come to light sooner.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11Now investigators were sure that the passport on file was a forgery,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14and that nurse McDowell-Foord was a fake.
0:22:15 > 0:22:23The National Insurance card also held on her employee file was tracked to a person in east London.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28The NHS fraud squad felt they now had enough evidence to make their move.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35On 11th May 2010, the police arrested the fake McDowell-Foord.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42But to bang this woman to rights, it was imperative the investigators find original copies
0:22:42 > 0:22:47of the forged documents, so officers conducted a detailed search of her home,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51and they weren't disappointed.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55This is the UK passport that was found
0:22:55 > 0:22:59that had the picture of Nurse McDowell-Foord.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03This is the missing passport dispatched in December 2000.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08This was subsequently examined by a forensic officer, who established
0:23:08 > 0:23:14that the picture had been tampered with and the replacement placed in.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16But there was more.
0:23:16 > 0:23:22A forged birth certificate was also found, complete with a glaring error.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24The birth certificate, for instance,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27was proven to be a forgery by the obvious mistake.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30For this particular birth certificate
0:23:30 > 0:23:33they've recorded the town as Lutterworth, County of Surrey,
0:23:33 > 0:23:40and in fact Lutterworth is in Leicestershire and there is no Lutterworth in Surrey.
0:23:40 > 0:23:46Other documents found were forged education certificates.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51You see, when the imposter applied for her nursing degree course
0:23:51 > 0:23:55and the 40 grand training bursary, she was required to provide details
0:23:55 > 0:23:59of her Ghanaian qualifications and an address for verification.
0:23:59 > 0:24:05The university then wrote to the examining body at the PO Box given.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11It is in response to that that they received this certificate,
0:24:11 > 0:24:17purportedly with the photograph of McDowell-Foord with her grades.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22But it was a fake, conjured up to order by a gang controlling the PO Box address in Ghana.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25The fact she was able to provide this document
0:24:25 > 0:24:28clearly links her to organised criminal networks
0:24:28 > 0:24:31that are able to supply documents to commit fraud.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37Other material found at the home address were e-mails and other letters.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41She is clearly communicating with family back in Ghana.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45There were Christmas cards, there were birthday cards,
0:24:45 > 0:24:49and all indication clearly gave the impression her name was Charlotte Larbi.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Bingo. Finally, this scrounger's true identity had been revealed.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Charlotte Larbi.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02For Peter Gorman, who dedicated two years to the case, it was a fantastic result.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08What pleased me most about this investigation is that
0:25:08 > 0:25:12a person who suspected that her identity has been used,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16could have the confidence to report this matter and that all efforts
0:25:16 > 0:25:22to verify that information to protect people within the NHS will be carried out.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30In April 2010, Charlotte Larbi was summoned to court.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35She pleaded guilty to obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38In other words, using forged documents
0:25:38 > 0:25:44to obtain earnings of £230,000 and a training bursary of £40,000.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49The total she pilfered from the public purse was £270,000.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55Then in July 2010, she returned to court to receive punishment.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59She was slammed with an eight-month prison sentence.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08Upon release, we'll be expecting that the UKPA will then be looking to deport her.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10So that's her over and done with in this country.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14- Yes.- Good on you. Another good job done.- Thank you.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17The sentence, I feel, is fair. It must be shown
0:26:17 > 0:26:22that persons who use false documents to obtain employment
0:26:22 > 0:26:26will be prosecuted and can face the full weight of the law.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30I'm very impressed and relieved that it's sorted.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Impressed that Peter Gorman sorted it out.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36He knew what he was doing and the upshot is that I can get on with my life
0:26:36 > 0:26:40and feel that it's completely sorted, you know.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43This was a serious case of fraud.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Nearly £250,000 worth of taxpayers' money was being paid
0:26:46 > 0:26:50to someone using a fake ID so that she could work in the UK.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52But she got caught and now she's in prison.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Except this time she has to use her real name.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:27:21 > 0:27:25E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk