Muller & Atkinson/Remploy/Ashman Saints and Scroungers

In the UK, we're lucky to have things like transport networks,

Legal Aid and free health care.

I'd like to think my taxes went to the NHS, elderly people.

A lot of people wouldn't have survived at all

if it hadn't been for the NHS!

These services are mostly paid for by us, the taxpayer,

and on the whole, we don't mind.

What happens when someone tries to steal from the system?

It is a criminal offence.

You've paid your taxes, you've paid your way and people are cheating the system.

Ridiculous!

With the economy as tough as it is, it's more important than ever

that those who nick from the system don't get away with it

and those who need help get it.

This is the world of Saints & Scroungers.

'Caught trying to fiddle the system.

'A pair of dentists pull a fast one over their patients and the NHS.'

It affects everybody out there who is an NHS patient of any sort.

This is our money and we need to stop it. It's our NHS.

'Then we meet those who deserve the public's help.

'We meet an autistic college leaver who's determined to better himself.'

To be in the workplace is like a stepping stone,

being more independent and taking more responsibility.

Nobody likes going to the dentist.

It can be painful, a bit scary and very expensive.

That's why the person who's putting a drill into your mouth

needs to be completely trustworthy.

< Mr Allwright!

Here we go.

'Meet 45-year-old Werner Muller and 64-year-old John Atkinson,

'two experienced and successful dentists working in Leicestershire,

'where they treated private and NHS patients.

'So, why were both men suspended in 2013

'after over 60 years of service between them?

'Sue Frith at NHS Protect can shed some light on the relationship

'between dentists and the National Health Service.'

Explain to me how it works with the NHS and dentists.

You don't have to be an NHS dentist to do dentistry work for the NHS.

No, dentists have their own private practice often

and they also can do work for the NHS, so there's a combination.

They can just be NHS dentists, private dentists or a mixture of the two.

What's the mechanism, then, by which they get paid?

If they're working for the NHS, when you go to the dentist, you'll be given a document to sign

that indicates that you've had NHS treatment and it will be reconciled.

'Both Muller and Atkinson carried out NHS treatment

'in the practice in Leicestershire.

'The practice was run by a company called Incorporated Dental Holdings,

'or IDH, who had a contract to carry out NHS work.

'IDH provided Muller and Atkinson with the premises,

'staff and technology they needed to run a business,

'in return for a percentage of the dentists' incomes.

'The National Health Service work proved to be lucrative.

'Muller was on an annual £271,000 contract

'and Atkinson was earning £135,000 a year.

'But suspicions were raised at IDH in 2007.'

IDH first realised that they might have a problem

when they decided to introduce a new computer software package

to deal with all the paperwork and patient records.

They were rolling this out across their various practices.

'In order to understand the new computer software,

'the company gave all employees a two-day training course.'

During the course of the training, Werner Muller and John Atkinson

were talking quite openly about how they could circumvent the system

and claim for NHS work whilst also claiming for private treatment.

They were talking about opening two courses of treatment at the same time.

'So, the chatterbox dentists were bragging about a potential loophole in the system

'which would allow them to fraudulently profit.

'But this light-hearted banter upset the IDH training staff.'

They were so worried that they e-mailed senior members of the management team

to say, "Look, this is what happened,"

and followed it up with a report saying, "We are really worried."

'Senior management and IDH took the trainers' concerns seriously

'and decided to audit the practice that Muller and Atkinson worked from.

'The results suggested some dodgy dealings,

'so they handed the case over to NHS Protect fraud investigator,

'Liz Wood.'

The approach from IDH came from the very top.

They thought that they had a problem and were extremely helpful.

They provided us with lots of documentation.

Many of the senior management team made statements and explained exactly what they had done.

'So, Muller and Atkinson were under investigation

'for stealing from the National Health Service,

'an institution that provides free health care for the public.

'Would trained professionals really scam our NHS?'

The majority are honest hard-working dentists,

but some dentists don't apply the rules the way they should do.

If we have some information that indicates they're not applying the rules they should do,

then we would investigate it further.

Would you say this is an area that is a particular concern,

an area where NHS Protect identifies a lot of fraud taking place?

There are lots of dentists and most of them use the system correctly.

Others see it as a opportunity to both charge the patient then claim it back through the NHS,

or persuade the patient they have to have something done privately,

rather than fill in that form and do it through the NHS.

'At this stage of the investigation, Liz Wood still had a lot to prove.'

When we first get a case, we have to approach it with an open mind.

We can't go in assuming that just because an allegation of fraud has been made,

that somebody is automatically guilty.

'So, the chase was on to determine

'exactly what Muller and Atkinson had been up to.

'Surely, they were mucking about during the training day

'when they said they'd found a way to fiddle the system?'

The first thing that we got when we were investigating

was a list from IDH of all of the treatment.

We could see that there were two courses of treatment open at the same time for the same patients.

There would be a private course of treatment

and an NHS course of treatment, and that really shouldn't happen.

'Unbelievable! Muller and Atkinson weren't bantering on the training day.

'They HAD discovered a loophole in the computer system

'and it appeared they'd been exploiting it to the full.'

If they put private patients through the system as NHS patients,

that's the private patients that the NHS knows absolutely nothing about,

if they put them through as NHS patients,

they get credited with NHS work for private work.

When we looked at the private course of treatment,

frequently described as "other", so it wasn't quite so obvious

to people at IDH what they were doing,

we found it would be described as just one tooth in a denture

or a colour on a crown.

You bought an NHS crown and it has a private colour on it.

You don't get a bridge with just one NHS bit to it.

You get a bridge - a private bridge or an NHS bridge, not a bit of both.

They made it sound like a patchwork blanket, not a dental treatment.

'When Liz looked further into the scam,

'it became apparent that patients were being swindled as well.'

The patients fell into two different groups.

Some were convinced that they hadn't been able to have NHS work

or had chosen deliberately to go for private treatment,

and were convinced that what they had received was private treatment,

even though some of them actually got a fairly basic crown or denture.

Others were convinced they were NHS.

It didn't matter that they'd paid way over the NHS price.

People believe the dentist when they say, "This is what you have to pay."

'Outrageous!

'As well as swindling the NHS,

'the dentists were ripping off their patients, too.

'It was time to start building the strongest case against Muller and Atkinson,

'so the fraud team jumped on their computers.'

A forensic image of a computer is a copy of what is actually stored on the computer.

It covers everything.

In this case, we copied the patient records.

We copied the record of everything that had been sent to the NHS.

We also copied all the financial records and appointment books,

so we could see who had come in on what day at what time.

We could see what they had paid. We could see absolutely everything.

'And the next task was to link the information to Muller and Atkinson.'

The forensic image in this case was really important

because we could see that it was Werner Muller and John Atkinson

putting the information onto the computer.

They had their own individual log-ons and it was their log-on

that was used to put in the private and the NHS course of treatment at the same time.

'So, Liz and the team could link Muller and Atkinson

'to the indiscretions being made on the IDH booking system.

'We'll find out later if they grasped their opportunity to prosecute.'

'Time to say goodbye to the scroungers trying to pinch from the public purse

'and welcome those we call our saints -

'people who work hard and dedicate their time

'to ensuring that others in need of support and struggling to keep their lives on track

'get all the help they're entitled to.'

As a young person leaving school, looking for a career,

the job market can be a tough and intimidating place.

If you're a school-leaver with a disability,

you can have even greater odds stacked against you.

'20-year-old Christopher McGeady was determined to better himself,

'despite suffering from Autistic Spectrum Disorder,

'with which he was diagnosed at the age of five.'

It's a mental learning disability which affects the way a person lives

in terms of interaction and...a different way of lifestyle,

compared to a normal average person.

'Autism is a disability that can be misunderstood.'

One of the key things is that autism is a hidden disability.

People don't look any different from you and I,

but they may really struggle in our complex social environment.

Often that results in very high levels of anxiety and stress.

'People with autism often have severe learning disabilities

'and find interacting a challenge,

'making fitting into mainstream society tough.'

Only 15% of people on the autistic spectrum are in full-time employment.

Which, I think, is a really... sad reflection

when we know how many people want to get jobs

and just what they can bring to the workplace.

'Christopher lives at home with his family

'and has been receiving Disability Living Allowance from an early age.'

Developmental delay is one key factor of the disability.

One of the things that I continuously need help with, even now,

is to have more time to understand things and take things on board.

'Christopher attended a mainstream school up to the age of ten,

'but because of his learning difficulties, it was decided

'that he would benefit from going to a school that specialised in supporting autistic children.'

In the special school, it was relatively straightforward.

It was done in a certain way that myself and the other pupils could learn and understand things.

In the mainstream environment, it was quite hectic, in terms of the method of teaching.

'Even though Christopher found mainstream education hard because of his autism,

'he still wanted to get some qualifications when he reached his mid teens.

'The autistic school couldn't teach him maths at GCSE level,

'so he started attending secondary school on a part-time basis

'and had to mix with other teenagers.'

It was quite nervous, quite daunting.

I was determined to do really well in my studies.

'Christopher sat his maths GCSE exam when he was 16 years old

'and he achieved a grade C.'

I felt very proud after completing my maths GCSE.

My teacher suggested that I do English at GCSE level,

as that is also very important.

'Regardless of his learning disabilities,

'Christopher buckled down and studied for an English GCSE,

'which he went on to pass at his local college.'

There was one of the lessons where we had to search for opportunities.

Having broadened my interest in railways when I was at school with my friends,

I wanted to consider a lifelong career in the railway industry.

'Having grown up in London, Christopher was interested in the Underground network,

'so he visited Transport For London's website.'

There was an article about the London Underground

providing a work experience scheme

for people with learning disabilities.

'The Steps Into Work scheme was a multi-agency partnership.

'Although it didn't pay a wage, the year-long process combined

'work experience from Transport For London,

'tutorials relating to the transport industry from the sixth form college

'and the expertise of a charity called Remploy,

'who prepare people with disabilities for work.'

The typical barriers

that the candidates coming through to Remploy might have

are lacking confidence.

They might have no work experience,

so they don't know anything about employability.

We would teach them things around employability skills, how to look for work.

A lot of them might not have the social skills to be able to communicate,

so we would teach them how to be within a group environment.

'Christopher, who was 17, was determined to apply for the scheme

'that would give him a taste of working in the transport industry.'

Having attempted to apply, I discovered that I was too young

at the time to do it.

I had to wait one more year before I could reapply.

'Not one to rest on his laurels,

'Christopher then gained a BTEC in applied sciences,

'but just before he turned 18, he reapplied for the scheme.

I had a phone call from the Remploy worker

to say that I'd been offered a place on the Steps Into Work scheme.

I was very happy that I got it afterwards.

'There was a time when Christopher could barely socialise.

'The scheme was helping him to manage his autism because on the second placement,

'he was having to deal with busy commuters on a daily basis.'

I think there are real challenges in mainstream workplaces

for people on the autistic spectrum.

Some of the difficulties that people have in social interaction

and in communication may put barriers in the way.

'Christopher faced similar problems when the course started.'

At first, when Christopher joined us, he was lacking confidence

and struggled to interact within the group environment.

One of the things we did at first was to put him into more of an administrative role

where it wasn't too customer-facing,

he was able to work with other staff and develop those skills.

We realised that there was a vast improvement in his confidence,

so then we put him forward for a placement as a customer service assistant.

It really did make me feel like a different person altogether.

To be in the workplace is kind of like a stepping stone,

in terms of being more independent and taking more responsibility.

'Towards the end of the year, candidates were encouraged to think about life after the scheme.'

I wanted to gain a lot of independence

and be just like a normal adult would be.

The Steps Into Work staff found the information

about the First Great Western apprenticeship scheme.

As soon as I heard about it, I took immediate interest.

'First Great Western are one of the UK's largest train operators.

'Adrian Barrell works as a mentor to apprentices who join the company.'

Every 18 months, we take on a group of young people between 16 to 18.

They get a varied insight of the rail industry.

They do various job tasks so they get experience of different sides

and hopefully come out with a job.

'With the Steps Into Work scheme on his CV,

'Christopher applied for the apprenticeship.'

A few weeks later, I got a letter from First Great Western

to say that my application was successful

and that they were going to invite me to attend an assessment day

and interview at Paddington Station.

'Christopher was now going for a mainstream apprenticeship open to everybody.'

I felt it was a really big step forward to take.

A lot of people with disabilities probably wouldn't be able to cope with an apprenticeship scheme

because it involves a lot of expectations and responsibilities.

'Christopher's autism made interview situations daunting and difficult,

'but thankfully, the charity was on hand to give him help.'

We managed to get some other advisors to come and do a mock assessment with him

and have him in the room and doing the interview as it would be with First Great Western.

Just so he had that experience of meeting somebody he doesn't know

and having to sell himself and his skills.

'Having prepared for the interview and armed with a stronger CV,

'Christopher completed his assessment day at Paddington.'

They said that they would let me know later on in the day

and I had my phone with me for the whole time.

I was determined to wait for that phone call.

It was a very tense moment.

'He had a long wait - five hours before getting the call from the assessment coordinator.'

Hello?

'She told me that I did very well in the assessment'

and they would like to offer me the apprenticeship.

I was very pleased and I said, "Yes, deal me in."

It was mostly his passion and his drive to want to work in that sector

and want to work for the company that is what sold it the most.

They didn't care about his disability and any of that.

They were just really blown away with him as a person.

Christopher's hard work had paid off.

With the programme's help, he got himself an 18-month apprenticeship.

It was a fantastic result for Christopher

and great news for his family.

'So, what might the future hold for Christopher?'

There's no limit as to where he can go from now. He's got that foot in the door.

He has now got the skills to be able to take it as far as he wants to go.

'Not only is Christopher working and earning in an industry he's always dreamt of,

'he's also much more socially interactive and confident.

I am very grateful that the Steps Into Work staff

have put a lot of effort to help me get to where I am now.

I believe I've found my place in life.

I would certainly consider staying within the railway long term.

So, not only is Christopher well on his way to a career,

he's also studying at the same time. There's no holding him back.

'Time now to revisit the very small number of scroungers

'who are stealing from the public purse.

'NHS Protect fraud investigator Liz Wood is pursuing...

'These dentists worked at a practice in Leicestershire,

'where they found a loophole in the system

'allowing them to combine private and NHS jobs to make more money.

'On top of this, they were suspected of conning their patients, too.'

Patients were told

that they needed private work, that the work that they needed

was not available on the NHS.

That was a lie.

Other patients were told that the work they were having was being provided by the NHS,

but that it was going to cost way more than the NHS fee.

And they believed their dentist.

'Liz and her team had strong evidence implicating both dentists of fraud.

'New information came in to suggest that time was of the essence.'

We had to move very quickly in the case of Werner Muller,

because we discovered that he was about to move back to South Africa - he is South African by birth.

'The team quickly turned around a raid of Muller's home, arrested him

'and confiscated his passport.

'More documents were seized and they found copies

'of NHS policy on dentistry contracts,

'which Muller had been studying.'

He had all this paperwork that he'd been through,

he'd underlined it, he highlighted things.

He'd been through every inch of every bit of paper published

about the contract.

That was really significant because we could prove that he could not say

he didn't know what he was doing, that it was a big mistake.

'It was enough evidence to bring in Muller for an interview.

'He'd claimed he'd misunderstood the NHS contract

'and thought what he was doing was OK.

'Throughout the interview, he stressed his innocence in English.

'The team planned to question him six months later

'in April 2008, when his bail came to an end.

'This time he wanted help in being understood.'

He suddenly said that he needed an Afrikaans interpreter.

There are only two Afrikaans interpreters in the country,

so it took us for ever to arrange the second interview properly.

I think he asked for the Afrikaans interpreter

because he regretted some of the things he told us during the first interview.

Also, having an interpreter can slow things down.

'Meanwhile, Atkinson also claimed his innocence

'and said he had no idea he'd been breaking a law.

'He was invited to a police station, where he was arrested.'

We were told that John Atkinson had been the person

behind the original scam by Werner Muller,

that it was him that dreamt up the two courses of treatment lark.

'Regardless of whose idea it was,

'both Muller and Atkinson were charged with fraud.'

The difference between John Atkinson and Werner Muller

was that John Atkinson genuinely cared about doing a good job.

He did provide high-quality restorations.

He may have been ripping off the NHS, but he did do good dentistry.

Whereas Werner Muller really didn't care that much

and was quite happy to charge an awful lot of money

for something that was quite cheap.

'Both men were bailed and while the court date was scheduled,

'NHS Protect began accounting for every piece of dodgy dentistry.'

Dental fraud's a bit odd in that you get lots of small amounts of money.

The fraud in each individual patient's case might be only £60.

What we have to do at court is roll it up into one huge charge,

add all these things together to get the actual loss to the NHS,

which could well run into thousands and thousands of pounds.

'That was exactly the case with Muller and Atkinson.

'The team calculated that over a one and a half year period,

'Werner Muller fraudulently claimed he'd completed

'just over £26,000 worth of NHS dental work that he hadn't.

'And John Atkinson,

'well, he stole almost 21,000 from the National Health Service.

'At Leicester Crown Court in June 2012,

'both men pleaded not guilty to...

'But what would the jury say?'

In court, they were found guilty, both of them, of all charges.

Which was deeply satisfying!

'On 9 August 2012,

'the dentists found out their punishment.'

They were both sentenced to...

Although the sentence is suspended, it is regarded as a term of imprisonment for legal purposes.

They were sentenced to one year's imprisonment.

'It was a big win for the NHS Protect team.'

You got a conviction and there's a sentence. Are you happy with that?

I'm really pleased that the work the investigators did was so good

that they were able to get that to a court, present it to a jury

and get that point home that these people had defrauded the NHS.

It's tough because it's a complicated case,

but they did an excellent job and the people were found guilty.

'The fraud investigators still felt the job wasn't over.

'They take their duty very seriously.'

It's important to stop this and NHS Protect is there to do that,

because this is stuff that affects real people.

It affects ME and it affects everybody out there who's an NHS patient of any sort.

This is our money and we need to stop it. It's our NHS.

'The team took action and applied for a confiscation order

'through the Proceeds Of Crime Act.

'NHS Protect's goal was to claw back some of Muller and Atkinson's crime-tainted cash

'and inject it back into the National Health Service.'

In terms of the money that they took,

we have managed to get confiscation orders.

On 3 May 2013,

Werner Muller was ordered to repay just over £26,000 within six months

or face a 12-month prison sentence.

Werner Muller, unfortunately, has skipped off to South Africa,

taking his substantial assets.

Although we're trying to get the money back, we're not 100% certain we're going to be successful.

'How did things work out for his accomplice?'

John Atkinson was actually bankrupt.

He has been bankrupted twice and he doesn't have anything.

We got a £1 confiscation order against him, which I understand has been paid.

'What about Muller and Atkinson as professionals?

'Will they be putting on their masks and white coats any time soon?'

Neither of the two men can practise as a dentist in this country.

Not private, not NHS.

For Muller and Atkinson, it was good while it lasted,

but for the pair of dodgy dentists, they discovered

if you put profits before patients,

the NHS will want to bite back.