0:00:02 > 0:00:05Saint And Scroungers puts the spotlight on benefit thieves.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08People who steal millions from the British taxpayer.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10We also search out the saints.
0:00:10 > 0:00:16People who help put unclaimed cash into the hands of those who really need it.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43Saints And Scroungers is all about busting benefit thieves who steal millions every year,
0:00:43 > 0:00:49and the crack teams of investigators determined to scupper their devious scams.
0:00:49 > 0:00:56We also shine a light on those who genuinely need the money and the people who help them get it.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58They are our saints. The saints get help
0:00:58 > 0:01:01and the fraudsters get their comeuppance.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Coming up on today's show.
0:01:03 > 0:01:10The dentist who shamelessly stole £307,000 from the NHS,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13despite already earning a six-figure salary.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18- So well in excess of £400,000 he had coming in each year. - Thereabouts, yes.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Gordon Bennett! He was rolling in it.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24And we meet the teenager who hit rock bottom
0:01:24 > 0:01:27and struggled to turn her life around.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30They said if you breach this, we'll send you to jail
0:01:30 > 0:01:32because you're not listening
0:01:32 > 0:01:35And my heart just sunk. I thought, "I can't do time in jail."
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Working as a dentist carries with it a sort of respectability.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45You've trained hard and you are paid well
0:01:45 > 0:01:48for looking after the teeth and gums of the nation.
0:01:48 > 0:01:49Open wide, please.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Working as a prison dentist is perhaps not the most rewarding job...
0:01:55 > 0:01:58There's a bit of tartar build-up there.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02..Unless, of course, you're getting paid for it twice by the taxpayer.
0:02:03 > 0:02:04I can see problems ahead.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12John Hudson had built a nice lifestyle for himself, his wife and three kids,
0:02:12 > 0:02:17thanks to years of hard work running a dental practice in his home time of Rochdale,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20where he catered for private and NHS patients.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23But he had another string to his bow.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25For the past ten years, he's been working
0:02:25 > 0:02:29at nearby Altcourse Prison to provide dental services for inmates.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32So far, so respectable. but imagine the shock
0:02:32 > 0:02:37when it became known that this apparently decent pillar of the community
0:02:37 > 0:02:45was suspected of cheating the NHS out of a whopping £306,961.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51That is a pretty breathtaking figure and I wanted to know
0:02:51 > 0:02:55if fraud on that scale was common in the NHS.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58So I went along to the headquarters of NHS Protect,
0:02:58 > 0:03:03the dedicated division whose job it is to tackle crime across the health service.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Liz Wood is an anti-fraud specialist with NHS Protect.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Her main focus is dental fraud.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14If you were to investigate a case, when would you start doing it?
0:03:14 > 0:03:19Is there a line, where over a certain amount you start investigating?
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Generally, I don't investigate anything under £100,000.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26- Wow, a lot of money. - It's an awful lot of money.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32NHS Protect clearly deals with a lot of dental fraud every year
0:03:32 > 0:03:38but even by Liz's standards, the sums involved in the John Hudson case were huge.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41How on Earth had it all come about?
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Her Majesty's Prison Altcourse is a privately run prison.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Who pays for dental treatment there?
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Until fairly recently, it was provided by a private company.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52This private company would employ their own dentist,
0:03:52 > 0:03:57or dentists, one of them being John Hudson, correct?
0:03:57 > 0:03:58Yes, that's true.
0:04:01 > 0:04:07So John Hudson had a contract worth a considerable amount of money with a private medical provider
0:04:07 > 0:04:10to do dental work at HMP Altcourse.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15Pauline Smith, head of anti-fraud at NHS Protect in the North West,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17takes up the story.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20It was established that Mr Hudson had held a contract
0:04:20 > 0:04:25for providing dental services at HMP Altcourse since 1998.
0:04:25 > 0:04:31He was paid on a sessional basis £400 per session,
0:04:31 > 0:04:36usually two sessions per day, two days per week.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Hmm. A nice little earner, you might think,
0:04:41 > 0:04:46but keeping the nation's gnashers in good nick is a responsible job.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49And you would expect an experienced dentist to be well paid.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50Hmm.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57HMP Altcourse is in Liverpool, but because he was working there under a private contract,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Hudson had no direct contact with Liverpool NHS.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06But, in 2004, the rules changed and all dentists were required to register
0:05:06 > 0:05:12with a local Primary Care Trust, so Hudson duly reported to Liverpool PCT.
0:05:14 > 0:05:20Mr Hudson was issued with his dental-contract number,
0:05:20 > 0:05:26which would allow him to commence being paid for NHS services he provided.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32As far as we were aware, Mr Hudson, however,
0:05:32 > 0:05:37continued to provide dental services under private contract.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44So as far as the authorities were concerned, everything was above board.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49But jump forward to 2008
0:05:49 > 0:05:54and a routine phone call from the prison's private medical provider
0:05:54 > 0:05:58to Liverpool Primary Care Trust reveals a very different story.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03When did you become aware something wasn't quite right with what John Hudson was doing?
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Basically, there was a new manager arrived at the prison
0:06:08 > 0:06:13and decided to check whether the amounts they were paying for lab work,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17that's dentures, bridges, crowns,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20whether they were in the right sort of area.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Because there's a vast difference in the amounts that you can pay for lab work.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29The new manager rang up the local Primary Care Trust and said,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31"Can you give you some advice?"
0:06:31 > 0:06:34And the people in the Primary Care Trust were very surprised about this,
0:06:34 > 0:06:40because they thought they were paying for the dental treatment, rather than the prison.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Hang on a minute, so who was paying John Hudson?
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Was it the private medical company, or was it the NHS?
0:06:47 > 0:06:51At this point, both parties were in a state of confusion.
0:06:51 > 0:06:59Both appeared to be holding contracts for the provision of dental services within HMP Altcourse.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Clearly, there was either an error, or something was not quite right.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08But there was no denying the one figure at the centre of all this -
0:07:08 > 0:07:12John Hudson. The dentist was suspended from his duties with immediate effect
0:07:12 > 0:07:17while the NHS Protect fraud team started to investigate.
0:07:17 > 0:07:23Pauline knew that John Hudson had registered with Liverpool PCT in 2004.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26So she was able to access his records.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29The first thing we did was extracted both contracts,
0:07:29 > 0:07:33both the privately held contract and the NHS contract
0:07:33 > 0:07:36to establish any evidence of overlap
0:07:36 > 0:07:42or to identify which was accurate and which, if any, was incorrect.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Hudson's private contract with the prison showed
0:07:45 > 0:07:52that he had started there in 1998 and was being paid around £120,000 a year.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56His NHS contract, however, didn't start until 2006.
0:07:58 > 0:08:04In 2006, Mr Hudson negotiated an NHS dental contract
0:08:04 > 0:08:10to provide dental services at HMP Altcourse with Liverpool Primary Care Trust.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15The contract was worth £136,000 per annum,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19paid monthly at £12,000 per month.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23So Hudson's NHS contract at 12 grand a month
0:08:23 > 0:08:27was worth even more than his private one at a mere 10 grand a month.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32But, how had he managed to swindle the NHS
0:08:32 > 0:08:35into giving him a contract with HMP Altcourse,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38when he was already working there in a private capacity?
0:08:39 > 0:08:42To understand how this could have happened,
0:08:42 > 0:08:47we have to go back to 2006, when the NHS changed the way it paid its dentists.
0:08:48 > 0:08:54Up to 2006, they were paid for every dental procedure they provided.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58For example, every check-up, every scale and polish
0:08:58 > 0:09:00and every filling provided.
0:09:02 > 0:09:08From 2006, the NHS paid its dentists on an annual contract.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12It seems that this change in the rules presented Hudson
0:09:12 > 0:09:16with an opportunity for fraud that he couldn't resist.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Tell me about John Hudson.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22He applied to get a contract
0:09:22 > 0:09:26specifically to supply NHS work to the prison,
0:09:26 > 0:09:31despite the fact that he was being paid privately to provide the same work.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36On his application form there is actually a box you're supposed to tick
0:09:36 > 0:09:40to say, "I do some work privately," but that is blank.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43- This is a copy of the form.- OK.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46- Independent, private. - That box is not ticked.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48So the fact that he hasn't ticked the box
0:09:48 > 0:09:52means the NHS are assuming he's not doing private work?
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Yes, the NHS takes these things at face value.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59It's a prison contract, we assume he's not doing private work.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02So it was becoming clear that for the past two years,
0:10:02 > 0:10:09Hudson had been cynically ripping off the NHS to the tune of around £136,000 a year,
0:10:09 > 0:10:15while being paid £120,000 by the private medical company
0:10:15 > 0:10:18But that wasn't the half of it.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23He also had his personal practice, the other one, the dental practice.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28He had an NHS contract, which in 2010,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31was worth just under £195,000.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Plus any private work that he did.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37- So well in excess of £400,000 he had coming in each year?- Yes.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Gordon Bennett! He was rolling in it.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49Later, Hudson clearly had no qualms about stealing money from the NHS
0:10:49 > 0:10:52to line his own pockets, but what would happen
0:10:52 > 0:10:55when his extravagant lifestyle caught up with him?
0:10:55 > 0:10:58When he was actually on holiday in the Caribbean,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01he said he was treating patients at the same time.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06- While he's on a beach, he's putting claims in for treatment he wasn't doing?- That's true.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10And still to come, we meet the benefit cheat
0:11:10 > 0:11:14whose love of the golf course would be his undoing.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18That person portrayed on the claim form was not really consistent
0:11:18 > 0:11:22with somebody playing golf three or four times a week.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30Next, it's farewell to the scroungers and hello to the saints.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35The innocent men and women all over the UK in dire need of Government help.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39And the people who show them the way to claim what they deserve.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Growing up in care can be difficult
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and a lot of people get over that hurdle.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49But, do you know, about a third of children who leave care
0:11:49 > 0:11:52end up employed and on Jobseeker's Allowance?
0:11:52 > 0:11:5719-year-old Ella Barnett went into care at 13 and spent
0:11:57 > 0:11:59the next three years going from school to school
0:11:59 > 0:12:02and from foster parent to care home.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Life was never going to be easy for this teenager.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08I went into care between 13 and 14.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12I went a lot off the rails,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16drinking, stealing, smoking.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20I didn't think anyone cared about me, so I thought, "Why do I care?"
0:12:20 > 0:12:25Ella's clearly had the kind of childhood you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29I've come along to Ashford in Kent to meet her and find out how she's doing now.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34- Right. Tell me about you, Ella. 19-years-old?- Yes.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37- You've had quite a life, though? - Yes.- Tell me about it.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40My mum and dad split up when I was younger.
0:12:40 > 0:12:46My mum left, my dad took care of me and my little sister.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Tell me about the problems you remember.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53My dad not being in a stable relationship,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56- there were a lot of people coming in and out of our lives.- Yep.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Did you feel you weren't getting the parental love you expected?
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Yeah. Definitely.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I just felt it was me against the world.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- What about your sister?- My sister, we didn't get along.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13It was just that clash. She wanted my dad, I wanted my dad.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15If she got more attention, I'd get jealous,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18if I got more attention, she'd get jealous.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24Things were made worse because Ella's father was often away from home working.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29I started misbehaving when my dad was going away.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32My dad would come home and start shouting.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34I just thought, "I don't want this."
0:13:34 > 0:13:38So I was just going out all the time, I didn't care.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40- I'd sneak out of the windows.- Yeah.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44- How old were you? - I was about 10, 11.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Things were bad at home and, by now, Ella's schoolwork was suffering.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54If I did go to school, I wouldn't do my homework.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58I didn't really bother at school, I just didn't care at school any more.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01But the problems really began when Ella was 13
0:14:01 > 0:14:04and she started drinking and shoplifting.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08- Did the police get involved? - Yeah, they did.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11I went to court I don't how many times. I lost track.
0:14:11 > 0:14:16- How young were you? - I think was 13 when I first went.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19- Into a court?- Yeah. - Charged with theft?- Yes.
0:14:19 > 0:14:20What happened?
0:14:20 > 0:14:24- I went on community service.- Right. - I had to do a lot of that.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29One night, Ella was involved in a fight at a party.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32The police were called and she was taken into custody.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36At the age of 13, you had spent a night in a police cell?
0:14:36 > 0:14:37Yeah.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41You had court judgments ordering you to do community service.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- Your life is spiralling out of control?- Yeah, definitely.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48It was at this point that Ella's father couldn't cope any more
0:14:48 > 0:14:50and Ella was put into care.
0:14:50 > 0:14:57I got to the care home and it was young children, just like myself, going through what I'm going through.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00I just wanted to go home, but I knew I couldn't.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Yeah, it was horrible.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08- How did you actually feel, as a person?- I felt like rubbish.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11I didn't feel like I should be honest. I hated it.
0:15:11 > 0:15:12I really hated it.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18While in care, Ella fell into bad company.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21One day, she was involved in a serious theft.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23She was put on a curfew and made to wear
0:15:23 > 0:15:26an electronic ankle bracelet for six months.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28They said, "If you breach this,
0:15:28 > 0:15:32"we will send you to jail, because you're not listening."
0:15:32 > 0:15:36My heart just sunk. I thought, "I know I can't do time in jail.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40"I won't handle it in there." So, yes, that hit me.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45Even though she had avoided prison, because she had just turned 16,
0:15:45 > 0:15:50Ella now had something she could never escape - a criminal record.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Around this time, Ella had to leave care.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56Because she could not legally claim benefits until she was 18,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00she was given £50 a week from Social Services and a flat to live in,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04but, sadly, that didn't last long.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07I was just letting anyone stay over.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09There was a lot of fights going on.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13I was, like, "They won't kick a 16-year-old out!" But what happened?
0:16:13 > 0:16:18- They did.- Where did you end up? - I went to a really horrible B&B.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21There was needles everywhere.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23There was alcoholics.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Weren't very nice people.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27'What made matters worse,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31'was that the B&B was in a strange town where she knew no-one.'
0:16:31 > 0:16:36- How long were you at the B&B for? - Between two and three months.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38How would you describe that period in your life?
0:16:38 > 0:16:43The worst, actually, the worst point in my life, that.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47At this time, Ella had been assigned a social worker,
0:16:47 > 0:16:52but at this point, her case was taken over by Robin Nolan, of the charity Catch 22,
0:16:52 > 0:16:57who are contracted by Kent Council to run their Leaving Care services.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Initially, when I first met Ella,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03she was distrusting of anyone at that moment in time.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Robin come upstairs and I said,
0:17:05 > 0:17:10"If you're not going to do nothing, I don't want to know none of you."
0:17:10 > 0:17:13After a brief discussion,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17we actually agreed that she needed to move back to her hometown
0:17:17 > 0:17:20and I made an appointment with Ella to go to the
0:17:20 > 0:17:24local council office and register herself as a homeless young person,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28and used the homeless legislation to get Ella rehoused.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32He got me out in a week and I was really happy.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37Back in Ashford, Robin managed to get Ella her own flat,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40which she moved into with her boyfriend, Paul.
0:17:40 > 0:17:41By this time, she was 18,
0:17:41 > 0:17:45so Robin was also able to help apply for Jobseeker's Allowance.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Things were definitely looking up for Ella,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51but although she was no longer in physical danger,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55she was in danger of becoming a statistic, another teenager
0:17:55 > 0:17:59leaving the care system with no job prospects and relying on benefits.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03I had nothing, no experience in anything,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07what I wanted to do, had no NVQ, nothing.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10But then, one day, Ella got a letter from the Job Centre.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14A government scheme called The Future Jobs Fund was asking
0:18:14 > 0:18:17her to attend an interview with a local authority funded charity
0:18:17 > 0:18:21called Kent Children's Fund Network or KCFN.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24They organised play activities for children in schools
0:18:24 > 0:18:27and youth clubs, all over the county.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Didn't know who they were, nothing about them.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32What did that letter say?
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Said I had an interview so I thought I'd go to it.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38The job interview was a golden opportunity for Ella,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41but with so many young people unemployed,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45would her criminal record stand in her way?
0:18:45 > 0:18:48I thought they'd just look at the paperwork
0:18:48 > 0:18:49and go, "Not having her."
0:18:54 > 0:18:58But first, we revisit the devious world of the scrounger.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01And here's a message to those benefits thieves out there. Smile!
0:19:01 > 0:19:03You're on camera.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10They think they're clever. They think they can beat the system.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Every year, thousands of benefit cheats get put under surveillance.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Welcome to the undercover world of benefit fraud investigators
0:19:17 > 0:19:20and the cheats they love to catch out.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28People say you cannot beat a round of golf.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32It's a great way to relax, get some exercise, enjoy the great outdoors.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37What could be better than getting out there on a regular basis?
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Like this chap, happy as Larry, as he goes out
0:19:40 > 0:19:43and enjoys his weekly round of golf without a care in the world.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Who would have thought such an innocent pastime
0:19:47 > 0:19:50could land someone in such big trouble?
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Because the surprising thing about this golfer, is that
0:19:53 > 0:19:56despite the fact that he plays at least once a week up, covering an
0:19:56 > 0:19:59average of four miles per round, he claims to be suffering from such
0:19:59 > 0:20:05severe rheumatoid and osteoarthritis that he can barely walk.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11In fact, 51-year-old Peter Crowder's condition
0:20:11 > 0:20:16was so bad, in 2005 he had to retire from his job as a psychiatric nurse
0:20:16 > 0:20:20and started claiming benefits worth £45 a week.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28A couple of years later, and he's back for more.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31It seems his condition worsened, so he made another claim
0:20:31 > 0:20:35and increased his weekly benefits to over £100.
0:20:35 > 0:20:41In August 2007 he made a claim for the mobility element
0:20:41 > 0:20:43of Disability Living Allowance,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47and at that time was awarded the highest rate of mobility
0:20:47 > 0:20:51allowance and his care component was increased to the highest rate,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55just based on what he said on the claim form at that time.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59Then the National Benefit Fraud Hotline received an anonymous
0:20:59 > 0:21:02tipoff saying that Peter Crowder wasn't as disabled as he claimed
0:21:02 > 0:21:04and had been spotted on a golf course.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08How can I put this? Working on his handicap?
0:21:08 > 0:21:12First and foremost we needed to see for ourselves him playing golf.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15We were able to put Mr Crowder under surveillance
0:21:15 > 0:21:20and we saw him unpacking his clubs and playing a round of golf.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24He was playing several times a week without any ailments whatsoever.
0:21:24 > 0:21:30Over a period of time, Mr Crowder played golf on 151 occasions
0:21:30 > 0:21:34over a three-year period and competed in 49 competitions.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37It sounds like Crowder never missed an opportunity to
0:21:37 > 0:21:41practise his swing, and as a regular fixture at his local golf club,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44he must have been out there in all weathers.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Now that doesn't sound like a man suffering from serious arthritis.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51Let's go back to those claim forms and take another look.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55The DLA claim form showed he was in constant pain
0:21:55 > 0:21:58and couldn't get dressed without any assistance,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02taking four, five, six minutes to climb stairs
0:22:02 > 0:22:05and was unable to use a bath, having difficulty with his care needs.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08He needed help getting undressed couldn't hold implements,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10he didn't have the grip in his hands.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15So that person that was portrayed on the claim form was not really
0:22:15 > 0:22:18consistent with somebody who's playing golf three or four times
0:22:18 > 0:22:21a week and gripping a golf club.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24But that's his opinion. What does our expert think?
0:22:24 > 0:22:26This is Mr Crowder.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28He's just arrived at the golf club.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32He's lifted quite a heavy weight out of the boot.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35He's pushing his golf trolley.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39He doesn't seem to be walking with any difficulty whatsoever.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42I'm basically looking for signs of pain
0:22:42 > 0:22:45and stiffness which are the symptoms of arthritis.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48He doesn't seem to be limping
0:22:48 > 0:22:53and there seems to be no inhibition of his movements at all.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Playing golf requires a full range of movements
0:22:56 > 0:23:00and if someone's got arthritis in any of those areas,
0:23:00 > 0:23:02it can affect the way they play.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06The DWP were now satisfied they'd got all the evidence they needed
0:23:06 > 0:23:10and Peter Crowder was called in and interviewed under caution.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14At first, he denied everything, but then they pulled out their proof.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Mr Crowder was eventually shown the footage
0:23:18 > 0:23:24and he admitted that he should have put on the claim form that he
0:23:24 > 0:23:28was capable of playing golf and he couldn't understand why
0:23:28 > 0:23:31he had omitted to put that down on the claim form.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34In a panic, Crowder then remortgaged his house in order to pay
0:23:34 > 0:23:38back £20,000 worth of illegally obtained benefits.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41But by then, it was too late.
0:23:41 > 0:23:47In August 2011, Peter Crowder was convicted of failing to declare a change in his circumstances
0:23:47 > 0:23:52and making a false statement to obtain more benefits in 2007.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55He was sentenced to six months in jail.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00Another scrounger banged to rights.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03That's one golfer who is decidedly below-par.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Now it's back to the good guys.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13By any standards, Ella Barnett has had a rough start in life.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18In care at 13, by 16 she was dossing in a B&B with alcoholics and drug addicts.
0:24:18 > 0:24:24Thanks to the prompt actions of her social worker that she was plucked to safety.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Soon as he said, "Right, we're going", I couldn't believe it.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31My heart melted. I thought no-one was going to help me again.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35- How long did it take you to pack your case?- Two minutes, I think.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40Back in her hometown of Ashford, things were looking up for Ella.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42She was now in her own flat
0:24:42 > 0:24:45and had been asked by the Job Centre to attend an interview
0:24:45 > 0:24:49at Kent Children's Fund Network or KCFN, for short.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52KCFN is a not-for-profit charity.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56We deliver youth service activity,
0:24:56 > 0:25:00working with young people that are hard to engage, and vulnerable young people.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06A large part of KCFN's work involves organising play sessions
0:25:06 > 0:25:10for these vulnerable kids and Garnet was looking for two assistant play workers
0:25:10 > 0:25:13for a six-month, fully-paid contract.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16It's an opportunity for them to progress,
0:25:16 > 0:25:23to gain the skills, to work alongside experienced play workers,
0:25:23 > 0:25:30gain new skills and then also progress on to qualifications.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Although she had been identified by the Job Centre as a suitable candidate,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Ella was totally lacking in self-confidence
0:25:38 > 0:25:42and felt like she didn't have a hope of getting the job.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46I thought, "Oh, I'm not going to look for a job, cos I'm never going to get nothing."
0:25:46 > 0:25:51My criminal record was going to affect me, like,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53working with children.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55I thought they was just going to look at the paperwork
0:25:55 > 0:25:58in black and white and thought, "Not having her".
0:25:58 > 0:26:00But encouraged by her boyfriend,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Ella did pluck up the courage to go along to the interview.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07When you went along, how many other people were up for the job?
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Um, there was five of us, I think.
0:26:10 > 0:26:11It was a group interview.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15- Right. How did you feel?- Nervous. Really nervous at that point.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19I thought, I'm not going to get it, there's other people here,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22more talent working with children, more experience...
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Yeah, I was so nervous, Dom!
0:26:25 > 0:26:27I didn't know nothing.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31The interview process could appear quite daunting.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36We want to see how that young person will engage with young people,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40and so we set up a role-play situation
0:26:40 > 0:26:44and it's quite interesting to see some of the results from that.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47I was doing my best that I could, I answered a lot of questions,
0:26:47 > 0:26:52but anyone in an interview panics and thinks they're not going to
0:26:52 > 0:26:54get the job, someone else is going to get it.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57But at the end, I think I done really well.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01Ella really stood out because of her big personality.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06She came across as a young person who could engage other young people
0:27:06 > 0:27:10and we saw potential in Ella.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12A few days later,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16and Ella was back at home, waiting nervously by the phone.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20My heart was racing, I thought they were going to say the position
0:27:20 > 0:27:22has been filled, you're not going to get it.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27A KCFN member, he phoned me and said, "Congratulations,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31"you've got the job" - I must have screamed down that phone!
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Garnet had given Ella the job because she'd done so well at the interview.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40To him, her past was just her past.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Although Ella had a criminal record, she had disclosed that to us,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48and we felt that as an organisation,
0:27:48 > 0:27:54we give every young person a chance and we didn't see that as a risk.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Want me to join in with you?
0:28:02 > 0:28:09Garnet also knew that this job represented Ella's first real chance to turn her life around.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14The good thing about the play-worker placement was that it was a paid position.
0:28:14 > 0:28:20They got to work with skilled play-workers that had been doing it for many years
0:28:20 > 0:28:25and they were able to gain confidence and become employable.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32- And what's your name?- Amber. - Amber. I'm Ella.- Hi, Ella.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37The other lucky applicant was 20-year-old Sarah Lonsborough.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41Like Ella, Sarah had been unemployed for a while.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Literally, it was just rejection letter after rejection letter.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47It was really off-putting.
0:28:47 > 0:28:48I was looking on the internet.
0:28:48 > 0:28:54I was going into cafes and hotels handing in my CV and they were just like, "Yeah, we'll call you."
0:28:54 > 0:28:55They never did.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59The two girls met at the interview day and immediately got on.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03Do you want to give it a go?
0:29:03 > 0:29:06Instantly I clicked with her. She was amazing.
0:29:06 > 0:29:11She just had such great ideas for play. It was just brilliant.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Hey!
0:29:14 > 0:29:18So, within a year, Ella went from the pit of despair to being fully employed,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21working at schools and youth centres all over Kent,
0:29:21 > 0:29:25organising and participating in children's play sessions.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29Tell me about the job. Are you just going in and helping out with kids?
0:29:29 > 0:29:37Parents as well. We're helping with families. We go to a session, if they want to talk to us they can.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39So is this disadvantaged families?
0:29:39 > 0:29:44- Some.- Some people got their own problems or children who've got problems?- Yeah.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47I can see why you'd be the ideal person for that
0:29:47 > 0:29:50- because you've had that troubled background, haven't you?- Yeah.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53So I know what it's like. Definitely.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56- Do you want me to help you? - Yeah.- Yeah? All right.
0:29:56 > 0:30:01- Cos I'm only four.- You're only four? That's still a big girl.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06Ella grew tremendously, cos when she first came in,
0:30:06 > 0:30:10she was very bright and you always knew when Ella was around.
0:30:10 > 0:30:15But she wasn't as confident as she appeared to be.
0:30:15 > 0:30:22She grew in confidence and was able flourish, really.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26OK. And push your legs. Keep pushing.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Ella was gaining confidence by the bucketload,
0:30:29 > 0:30:33and part of that was down to the fact that for the first time in her life,
0:30:33 > 0:30:36she was off benefits and earning her own money.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38That's it. Yay! Well done!
0:30:38 > 0:30:43You are now getting a wage packet instead of Jobseeker's Allowance.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46How did it feel when that first packet arrived?
0:30:46 > 0:30:48It was lovely. Loved it.
0:30:48 > 0:30:53- What did you do with it?- I went shopping. I filled up my cupboards.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56- Food?- Food. The fridge was always full.- Yep.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00- What about some of the other things you bought?- I bought new sofas.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02Because I could afford a new one,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05I gave my old one to the youth centre.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07All right, let's go.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09Ella was clearly in her element at KCFN.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11Aw, you're winning!
0:31:12 > 0:31:15But sadly, the job was only ever going to last for six months.
0:31:15 > 0:31:23Luckily for her, that didn't mean going back to square one, because Garnet stuck by her.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27Ella was of course upset that the work placement ended,
0:31:27 > 0:31:33but we had an opportunity to sit down and talk about the future,
0:31:33 > 0:31:40and one of the options we took up was that Ella do the Children And Young Person's qualification,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44which is the equivalent to an NVQ Level 2.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49That will give Ella the opportunity to progress onto social care qualifications,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52which she wants to do in future.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58I was looking forward to catching up with Ella to find out how she'd been coping
0:31:58 > 0:32:01since her six-month contract had ended.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08- You loved that job, didn't you? - Yes. I knew where I stood.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10You were off benefits as well.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13Yeah. Getting payslips, earning my own money.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Paying tax.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20Shopping. Don't forget the shopping cos I know how much you love that.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23So now you're on a training course at NVQ Level 2.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27At the end of it you'll be a qualified child carer?
0:32:27 > 0:32:30No. Children and young people work force.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34- From there where do you go? - My social worker, Robin,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37is trying to get me on the course to be a social worker.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39OK. That's a much longer course, isn't it?
0:32:39 > 0:32:42- Yeah. Three years, it's going to take.- OK. You fancy that?- Yeah.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46If I train to be a social worker and I go and see a young child
0:32:46 > 0:32:49and they're like, "You don't know what I'm going through",
0:32:49 > 0:32:52I'll say, "I do. I've been there. I know what you're going through."
0:32:52 > 0:32:55- You've got the T-shirt, haven't you? - Yeah.- You done it.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58But you've come out of it now, that's the thing.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02You've had another little down in the fact this job ran out after six months
0:33:02 > 0:33:04- but you're back on the ladder again.- Yeah.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08- Tell me where you're going to be in five years' time.- A social worker.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12- Full-time, qualified, employed. - Yeah, social worker.- Yeah?
0:33:12 > 0:33:15I'm going to come back and check on you in five years' time!
0:33:15 > 0:33:17I'll make sure you will!
0:33:22 > 0:33:27- Don't eat it!- Why?- Cos it's Play-Doh! You don't eat Play-Doh.
0:33:27 > 0:33:33For the time being, Ella is back on Jobseeker's Allowance while she completes her NVQ,
0:33:33 > 0:33:39but having got a taste of financial independence, hopefully it won't be long till she's fully employed
0:33:39 > 0:33:41in a job that she loves and where she can make a difference.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43Here you go, darling.
0:33:43 > 0:33:49I am looking forward to the future. My goal is to be a social worker and I'm going to reach that goal.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51I know it's going to take a few years,
0:33:51 > 0:33:55and you've got to keep your head up high and it's going to be hard,
0:33:55 > 0:33:56but you've got to stick by it.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58If you want that in life, you've got to go for it.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02What do you want to do, then? Football, all right. Shall we go and find a football?
0:34:02 > 0:34:07While she's studying, Ella can do the odd play session for KCFN,
0:34:07 > 0:34:11which means she can keep her hand in and stay in close touch with Garnet.
0:34:12 > 0:34:18I think Ella can achieve anything she wants to. She's very driven.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21She's got an idea of what she wants to do.
0:34:21 > 0:34:27It's rewarding to see a young person like Ella progress and achieve.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31It's inspiring, and as an organisation that's what we're all about.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33Hey!
0:34:35 > 0:34:39As a child, Ella got dealt a pretty rough hand. As a result of that,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42she turned to crime and felt like there was no hope.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44But it's thanks to saints like Garnet,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47because people like him help turn lives around,
0:34:47 > 0:34:51give people a second chance in life, and now Ella is on her way
0:34:51 > 0:34:54to becoming one of those saints herself.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01Back now to the world of a scrounger,
0:35:01 > 0:35:03and the fraud investigators of NHS Protect
0:35:03 > 0:35:07are grappling with one of the most audacious and cynical attempts
0:35:07 > 0:35:11to defraud the NHS they had ever come across.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13Rochdale dentist John Hudson
0:35:13 > 0:35:15had been working under a private contract
0:35:15 > 0:35:18at Her Majesty's Prison Altcourse near Liverpool.
0:35:18 > 0:35:23However, Pauline Smith, anti-fraud specialist for NHS Protect in the North West,
0:35:23 > 0:35:28had discovered that he had also managed to dupe his local Primary Care Trust
0:35:28 > 0:35:32into giving him another contract for the same work.
0:35:32 > 0:35:38Critically, he omitted to tick box F,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42which would have immediately indicated to Liverpool Primary Care Trust
0:35:42 > 0:35:50that the work he was completing at the prison was actually being paid for by the private medical provider.
0:35:50 > 0:35:56It was time to call Hudson in for an interview to see if he could share the wisdom of this potential mix-up.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00But getting answers out of this dentist was like pulling teeth.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02Open wide. This may hurt a bit.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08On the 27th of March 2009, John Hudson was asked
0:36:08 > 0:36:11to attend the first of several interviews under caution.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18In total Mr Hudson was interviewed on four separate occasions.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22On each and every occasion, Mr Hudson maintained "no comment"
0:36:22 > 0:36:26to every question put to him during the interviews.
0:36:26 > 0:36:31The team now desperately needed to build a case that was going to stand up in court.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33If Hudson wasn't going to co-operate,
0:36:33 > 0:36:37then they need to look elsewhere for further proof of his wrongdoing.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40Luckily, the evidence was there in black and white
0:36:40 > 0:36:43in the form of the meticulous dental patient records kept by the prison,
0:36:43 > 0:36:49which showed which prisoner had been seen where and what treatment they had received.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52Anti-fraud specialist Liz Wood takes up the story.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Basically, we cross-checked all of the work
0:36:55 > 0:36:59that he claimed to have done for NHS patients at the prison,
0:36:59 > 0:37:04and we cross-checked that against the diaries in the prison.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07We checked the patient record cards
0:37:07 > 0:37:15to make sure he wasn't actually doing anything extra that could justify the claim to the NHS.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19The team were worried that Hudson might claim that he needed the NHS contract
0:37:19 > 0:37:22because he was seeing so many patients at the prison
0:37:22 > 0:37:26that the money he was getting from the private medical company just didn't cover it.
0:37:26 > 0:37:32Crucially, there was no other evidence of any appointments over and above those already paid for
0:37:32 > 0:37:36under the terms of the private medical contract
0:37:36 > 0:37:41that would require or justify payments to be made by the NHS.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45But Pauline didn't stop there.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48When they're investigating a fraud, NHS Protect are given special powers
0:37:48 > 0:37:53to access the personal financial details of the suspected fraudster.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58Pauline was able to comb through loads of paperwork relating to John Hudson,
0:37:58 > 0:38:02including bank statements, credit card statements, as well as pay slips
0:38:02 > 0:38:06from both the NHS and the private medical supplier.
0:38:06 > 0:38:14This is a letter from Mr Hudson to the private medical provider,
0:38:14 > 0:38:18where he's claiming for services that he has provided to the Trust
0:38:18 > 0:38:21under his private contract.
0:38:24 > 0:38:29Here we have an NHS payment advice that clearly shows credits
0:38:29 > 0:38:33being made to Mr Hudson for the identical work that he's
0:38:33 > 0:38:38already been paid for or claimed for from the private medical provider.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43Together, these documents identify that, clearly,
0:38:43 > 0:38:48Mr Hudson was being paid twice for one service he has provided
0:38:48 > 0:38:49to the prison.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53Bingo!
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Pauline finally had the proof she needed,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58that Hudson was lining his pockets at the expense of the old
0:38:58 > 0:39:01and sick of Liverpool and the tax payer.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03But it didn't stop there.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07The evidence of his deceptions kept on piling up.
0:39:07 > 0:39:12We even checked his credit card statements
0:39:12 > 0:39:14and discovered that when he was on actually on holiday
0:39:14 > 0:39:16in the Caribbean,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20he said he was treating patients at the same time, at the prison.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23He had the nerve to do that? While he's sunning himself,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26he's putting claims in for treatment he wasn't doing?
0:39:26 > 0:39:27That's true. Yes.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Sounds like there's a lovely paper trail of evidence.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33There was a really good paper trail of evidence.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38Not only was this dodgy dentist being paid twice
0:39:38 > 0:39:41for the same job, but he was also invoicing for work
0:39:41 > 0:39:45that was carried out while he and his family were swanning off abroad!
0:39:45 > 0:39:48Cheek of it!
0:39:48 > 0:39:51After months of investigation,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54Pauline was satisfied that she had a water-tight case.
0:39:54 > 0:39:59She had evidence that between May 2006 and July 2008,
0:39:59 > 0:40:06Mr Hudson earned £280,000 from his private contract at HMP Altcourse.
0:40:06 > 0:40:07For the same period,
0:40:07 > 0:40:13he also received almost £307,000 from the NHS for the same services.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17We were satsfied that none of the money Mr Hudson received
0:40:17 > 0:40:22from the NHS was appropriate, because he'd already been paid
0:40:22 > 0:40:25for the services he had provided to the prison
0:40:25 > 0:40:27by the private medical provider.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31It was time for John Hudson to face the music.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36On the 4th October 2010, he was taken to court
0:40:36 > 0:40:41and charged with 32 counts of dishonestly retaining wrongful credits
0:40:41 > 0:40:45and two counts of fraud by false representation.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47He had refused to cooperate with the investigation,
0:40:47 > 0:40:51but on the day, Hudson realised that the writing was on the wall,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54and pleaded guilty to 27 of the charges.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00He returned to court on the 9th of November to hear his fate.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05The judge ruled that John Hudson's fraud deserved a lengthy custodial sentence,
0:41:05 > 0:41:09and he was sent to prison for 27 months.
0:41:09 > 0:41:16In total, John Hudson had swindled the NHS out of £306,961.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20For Pauline, it was a satisfactory conclusion
0:41:20 > 0:41:22to a challenging investigation.
0:41:22 > 0:41:27NHS Protect, overall, are very pleased with the outcome
0:41:27 > 0:41:29in this case.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39The NHS launched civil proceedings against Hudson
0:41:39 > 0:41:41and got back every single penny.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44The money was returned to Liverpool Primary Care Trust
0:41:44 > 0:41:46to be used for its intended purpose -
0:41:46 > 0:41:49'the care of the sick and elderly in Liverpool.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52'And what does the future hold for Hudson?'
0:41:52 > 0:41:55He's basically finished. He has to go before the GDC.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58- The General Dentist Council? - The General Dental Council.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03- Hasn't his greed been his absolute downfall? Hasn't it?- Undoubedly.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07This is a man who could have earned a perfectly legitimate living,
0:42:07 > 0:42:12earning far more than most people, and he needed more.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17- Ten times more!- Well, yes, he needed a lot more, didn't he?
0:42:17 > 0:42:22In the end, the General Dental Council did vote to suspend
0:42:22 > 0:42:26John Hudson from their dental practitioner's list.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30This dentist's days of extracting money from the public purse
0:42:30 > 0:42:32are well and truly over.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36NHS investigators fought tooth and nail to bring him to justice,
0:42:36 > 0:42:40and now he's gone from treating the inmates to being one himself.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42That's what I call karma!
0:43:02 > 0:43:07Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:43:07 > 0:43:12E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk