The Dodgy Doctor and His Invisible Patient Saints and Scroungers

Theft of public money costs the UK taxpayer over £20 billion a year.

This was one of the biggest cases we've ever had.

It came into the region of about half a million pounds.

It's money which should be going into the public pot

to spend on essential services.

The victims in this case are the public

and the money could have been used to build schools or fund hospitals.

And throughout the country there are specially trained

investigators making sure that justice is served.

The system cannot be beaten.

They will be held to account at some point.

In this series we meet the men and women across the UK committed

to catching criminals who steal from you and me,

the British taxpayer.

But we also hear stories from people who genuinely need help

from public money.

I'd swap places tomorrow with him if it meant he could walk.

I just thought I'm one of them lowlifes who's had an addiction.

And sometimes they don't even realise they're entitled to it.

I didn't know there was anything better out there

until she started at the Institute.

Coming up, a tip-off from a doctor's surgery uncovers a meticulous plan

to rip off the NHS, putting patients' lives at risk.

The most disturbing aspect of this case is that

the doctor has been incredibly lucky that none of his patients have died

as a result of his criminal acts.

A benefits scrounger lives the high life

when he claims £85,000 in disability allowance.

I think it's particularly upsetting to see someone abusing

the system in this way.

And a devoted mum puts her own health in jeopardy,

struggling to care for her mentally ill son.

I was getting depressed and quite ill, really.

The health and well-being of 63 million people in the UK

is in the hands of the NHS.

But when it's targeted by fraud, it doesn't just suffer financially.

Fraud against the National Health Service

directly impacts on their ability

to care for patients and drains away money

and resources from this important function.

It's the work of a dedicated team of investigators from NHS Protect

to defend it against attacks

which can affect its reputation and budget.

Sometimes those attacks can come from within.

He was focused on achieving the maximum amount of money

he could draw down.

That preoccupied him more than anything else.

Antifraud specialist, Pauline Smith,

is one of the NHS's highly trained investigators.

And one of her cases concerned a GP running a practice in Rochdale,

a town with the highest density of adult unemployment

in Greater Manchester.

The most disturbing aspect of this case is that Dr Sundaresan has been

actually incredibly lucky that none of his patients

have died as a result of his criminal acts.

The case is one of the most blatant thefts the team has ever

come across and involves not only taking money from NHS reserves,

but could have had a devastating effect on members of the public.

He couldn't explain why a dead person had a blood pressure reading.

Clearly, dead people don't have blood pressure readings.

He first came to light in 2008 at Rochdale's East Street surgery.

Suspicions first arose

when the GP practice manager reported to chiefs her concerns over apparent

activity that had occurred over the previous bank holiday weekend.

We wouldn't have expected any activity whatsoever

over an Easter bank holiday, given that GP practices are closed.

Nevertheless, records show that a huge number of patients

had visited the surgery, and suspicion fell on Dr Sundaresan.

The GP was reporting that he had completed clinical procedures,

for example blood pressure, diabetic screening.

GPs are paid on the volume and type of services they deliver.

And a few checks elsewhere added to Pauline's concerns.

The providers responsible for diabetic eye screening

had identified that the actual levels of screenings undertaken by them

was much lower than had been claimed for by the practice.

GP surgeries have targets to hit in relation to certain procedures,

such as tests for diabetes and blood pressure.

And for every test they do, they receive more public funding.

The National Health Service annual budget is in excess of

100 billion every year.

So that's 100 billion of public money susceptible to fraud.

Dr Sundaresan had hit his targets for certain procedures,

but this happened just days before the end of the financial year

deadline, and over the Easter holiday weekend.

Based on these considerable concerns,

the matter was referred to Heyward, Middleton and Rochdale's local

counter fraud specialist and David Parker was assigned to investigate.

Dr Sundaresan and his partner

were regarded as dynamic young doctors

who were brought into the practice to bring about a number

of changes in terms of converting the practice from a paper system

to a paperless system, for the better of patient care.

With his business partner on maternity leave

and unaware of what was going on,

it was this new paperless system that seemingly allowed Dr Sundaresan

to change records,

ensuring bonus payments of £62,000 of public money.

The investigators checked patient files at the surgery,

looking for evidence.

They generated a report which showed which patients' records

had been entered and the time and date that those patients' records

had been altered.

What was more shocking

is that the level of activities that had been reported

were comparable to six months of activities rather than just

over four days.

Dr Sundaresan had claimed to have seen six months' worth

of patients in four days.

And as the investigation continued,

David came up with a hunch as to why Sundaresan was changing the records.

The practice realised in January 2008 that they weren't meeting

the predefined targets. There were time restrictions.

He had to input this information before the financial year

ended in a few days' time.

With this in mind, David suspected Dr Sundaresan felt he had no option

but to make up the figures in order to receive more

bonus payments from the NHS.

To build up evidence, David needed the cooperation of patients

and staff.

They obviously are cautious about getting involved

in official investigations,

but they realised that their medical records...

..are incorrect and that kind of offended them, I think.

David's team scrutinised almost 2,000 patient records

and discovered something even more shocking.

Former patients at the surgery who had died were also among those

whose records had been updated.

Their relatives were deeply shocked.

I think first of all you had a doctor who, at face value,

they trusted implicitly, and then by altering their medical records

he's breached that trust and...

..they found it quite difficult to comprehend that the doctor

would do this sort of thing.

This practice is part of the community

and has been so for a number of years.

Dr Sundaresan was well respected.

His clinical skills weren't doubted by the patients.

Like many of his patients, Pauline Mitchell is in poor health

and relied heavily on Dr Sundaresan.

When I saw Dr Sundaresan, he used to bend over backwards to help you.

And if you had a problem you could make an appointment to see him

and he would sit there and listen to you

and then he'd advise you on what to do.

He was such a brilliant doctor.

He was one in one million.

He is the best one I've ever had, put it that way.

And it seems even Dr Sundaresan's staff, who trusted him,

had no idea of his plan and agreed to work over a bank holiday weekend.

This is the rear entrance to the building,

where the offices are cited.

Straight ahead was a consultation room with a computer.

To the right is a room with a computer

and to the left are other rooms that all have computers.

These terminals were open and over that four-day period

three members of staff were inputting data on various terminals.

The IT technician was under the impression that he was

updating records of consultations that had taken place.

This wasn't the case.

What was taking place was activity of a fraudulent nature,

ie creating false and spurious entries in patients' records.

With the evidence piling up,

it was time to call in Dr Sundaresan for questioning.

Dr Sundaresan was invited in for interview

and during the course of that interview,

he took us on the journey of his life through the practice

and kind of touched on everything

that wasn't relevant to the investigation.

I don't think he realised the extent of the evidence that we had with him,

so he didn't know where we were going to be coming from,

so he kind of did a broad brush stroke approach

to giving his evidence.

And he kind of purported

that his best intentions were for the welfare of the patients

and the good management of the practice.

But when pressed on the altering of deceased patients' records,

Dr Sundaresan fell silent.

Throughout the interview, he came up with a number of excuses,

but clearly couldn't explain situations where dead patients

were having blood pressure checks.

Clearly impossible, that couldn't have happened and he couldn't give a good answer.

Despite Dr Sundaresan's excuses

and protestations that it was a system error,

mistakenly inputted codes, or someone else's fault,

the net was closing in.

Typically he tried to blame other people rather than himself,

when the clear intent behind this course of action

was to draw down payments.

Dishonestly.

The doctor was charged with fraud by false representation

and fraud by abuse of position.

I think prior to the trial, he realises that his explanation

had a lot of shortcomings and, when he took advice from counsel,

he realised that his conduct had been dishonest.

Later, the investigating team have a long way to go

before they can bring the case against Dr Sundaresan

to the courts.

Now, while a few individuals may be intent on deception,

it goes without saying the vast majority of people

working within public health care provide a vital lifeline of support.

Someone who knows this more than most

is Shirley Barber from Bristol.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Shirley.

-Hello.

Look, I'm wiping my feet like it says on the door.

-SHIRLEY LAUGHS

-There we go.

'Back in 1971, mum Shirley thought she had the perfect family set-up.'

-Perfect, normal childhood.

-Yes. Very smart.

That was when he went to my friend's wedding.

-Is he a page boy?

-Yes.

But little did she know what lay in store for her son, Derren,

as he became a teenager.

I'm looking at that photo and I see a lot of things.

You know, I see Derren there, smiling away,

but that for you signifies a very difficult time.

When Derren Barber turned 15, his mum started to notice a big change.

I noticed he was getting quiet.

And he started to stay in his room a lot more.

Um, wasn't bothering with his friends as much.

That can be what teenagers are like

and I would imagine it's probably quite difficult as a mum

to tell the difference between

-a slightly moody and introverted teenager, because I certainly was that...

-Mmm.

..and then something bigger and maybe more worrying.

Yes. I noticed he started thinking a lot.

I could see he was just sat, thinking,

but I didn't realise at the time he was hearing voices in his head.

Before long it was clear to Shirley

that this problem wasn't the only thing affecting her son.

He was like, staring at things.

He seemed to be staring at something that wasn't there.

And I said, "What are you looking at, Derren? And he said, "Nothing."

He wouldn't tell me.

He didn't want to talk about it, at all.

-As a mum, how do you deal with that? Because...

-Hard.

-What was going through your mind?

-It was heartbreaking

to see my beautiful boy going through those terrible things

because he had a lovely, normal childhood, loads of friends, and to

just see him go into this reclusive teenager it just broke my heart.

Through his late teens Derren's condition worsened

and Shirley's situation declined even further

when the pressures of looking after their son affected family life.

-I got divorced from my husband.

-What were you thinking at that stage?

It must have been very difficult.

It was so sad because I never wanted to get divorced.

We had quite a good marriage really.

But it was all the things we were going through.

'Around 42% of carers find their personal relationships

'adversely affected by caring responsibilities.'

Shirley's struggle to look after Derren alone wasn't

helped by the fact that his condition was baffling the doctors.

They didn't really know what it was in the beginning.

They thought it was alcoholism or epilepsy.

They were just coming out with all the different things which they

thought it could have been.

With no clear diagnosis or effective medical assistance,

by the time Derren was a young adult of 23, catastrophe was looming.

He was gradually getting worse

and worse till he couldn't cope with it any more.

He just got in a right state one day and just smashed my whole house up.

And I had to call the police because I couldn't control him.

He wouldn't stop. He just got in a rage.

They actually had to take him to the cells which broke my heart

because he was ill anyway.

And he got put in the cells all night.

And then the next day they sectioned him.

They put him in a mental institution.

It did seem cruel but there didn't seem to be anything else to do

because he was just uncontrollable.

It was while he was in institutional care that Derren received

the diagnosis that he was among the 1% of people

affected by schizophrenia at some point in their lives.

I went to meetings, different meetings,

mental health meetings, and had loads of literature on it,

read up on it all.

Derren was prescribed medication and Shirley tried to care for him

at home by herself.

I looked after him for a good ten years first of all.

But I found that it was too much for me because he was 24 hours work really

because he wasn't sleeping and I was nearly having a nervous breakdown.

He started going to all these different care homes which wasn't very nice at all.

Unable to settle in a string of care homes Derren's condition

worsened and the strain was too much for Shirley.

I just felt like I...wasn't qualified to look after him.

And he used to live to come home to be with me.

I was getting depressed and quite ill really

because it was just devastating to see my son like that in that way.

I just didn't know where to turn really, or what to do.

In 2013, almost a decade after Derren's diagnosis,

deeply worried about her son, and with their own health

on the verge of collapse, Shirley decided she had to take action.

I went to see my doctor, because Derren was very depressed,

very unhappy in the place where he was.

It was making me feel ill...

just thinking about him being there.

'I knew what would make me better was for Derren to get better.'

That's all that it would take to make me better. You know?

Shirley's GP put her in touch with Sam Radford

from Bristol-based charity the Carers Support Centre.

They help carers to take control of their lives

and to find a balance between caring

and caring for themselves.

We established quite quickly that there were some things

that were very wrong and that we needed to address that,

but mainly that was to actually give Shirley back some of the...

not power, necessarily,

but control over how others were providing her son's support.

The meeting with Sam would change Derren and Shirley's lives.

Sam came to see me, then we went to see Derren at his last place

where he was staying, and she wasn't happy with it at all.

She just said Derren shouldn't be there,

he needs to be in a better place, you know, with more care.

What I did was support Shirley to engage with the social worker

to look at the options available for him closer to home

and to look at him having a support plan

that was going to enable him to take control of his own life

and be part of his local community.

With Sam's help and after a full assessment for Derren,

Shirley persuaded the council to find him somewhere new to live,

and eventually Shirley and Derren chose a new shared house

run by Milestones Trust.

I'm having this, my fish and chips!

Yeah!

When Sam said, "It's an independent place we've got lined up for him,"

I couldn't believe it, and I said,

"What, Derren independent? He's never been independent."

She said, "Well, we think he can."

Derren moved in in January 2014, and he's never looked back.

It's the happiest he's ever been,

cos he's got his own life, he's got his own independence.

He's learning to do everything for himself.

He's coming home on the bus on his own, which he never, ever did before,

he's going out, buying his own clothes, his own shopping...

getting his own food. He's just doing so much.

-Love you loads.

-I'll see you out.

-Yeah.

-I'll see you out.

And that's not all.

Derren's new independence means that he now volunteers at a nearby farm.

Have a seat!

-It's lovely here, isn't it?

-Oh, it's lovely.

So, Derren, then, what a step forward.

And how much of a difference is that compared to what he was?

-It's a great big difference.

-Is it?

-A hell of a difference, yeah.

If you just take a handful of it and chuck it about, then that'll do.

-What, just there?

-Yeah.

It's just fantastic to think that he can come and do all this, you know?

And he couldn't do it before.

He's been a lot more happier, more content.

It makes me more happier to see him happy,

because he's not depressed any more.

And the others working at the farm have seen a difference, too.

Derren's been volunteering here for, I think, the last two months or so,

so he's a relatively new volunteer.

He was a little bit awkward, a little bit anxious, unconfident.

But he's definitely come out of himself

since he's been volunteering here.

-There we go.

-That enough? Or want one more?

-Oh, I think you may as well put it all in.

-All of that?

-Yeah.

-You could tip it in, if you like.

-Do you want all that?

-Yeah.

For Shirley, the improvement in Derren's wellbeing

has given her a tremendous lift.

It feels... I don't know, it just... I can't explain it,

the feeling of contentment I've got now.

You know? Not having it for the past 20 years.

There's probably someone out there today watching

whose son or daughter has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Given what you've experienced over these decades now,

what would you say to them, if you could?

I would say that there's lots of hope out there.

People say there's no hope, but there is.

I mean, I'm proof, Derren's proof. There's lots of hope.

-Does anybody want a cup of tea?

-Might have a cup of tea!

-You've got your own room.

-Yeah, I've got my room.

-And you've got the kitchen you can use.

-Yeah, kitchen...

-I can see my mum when I want.

-That's good, isn't it, Derren?

-Yeah.

Really good.

There is places for everyone with mental illness.

There's a right place for all of them.

It's just a matter of finding the right place.

Now, while many families are simply unaware

of how much assistance the state can provide,

others just help themselves to much more than they're due.

Exotic holidays, experiences some of us can only dream of.

But not for Stephen Worton and his wife, Suzanne Martin.

They visited Turkey, Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt and Goa in India.

And there's nothing wrong with that

if you're working hard to pay for life's little luxuries.

But it's not so great

if your jet-setting ways are courtesy of the British taxpayer.

Latest statistics show that the UK benefits system

provides invaluable support to some 5.3 million people per year

who desperately need it.

So the tiny numbers of incidents of abuse of the system

are always taken very seriously by a team of dedicated investigators,

people like Steve Sneade of the Department for Work and Pensions.

We take all types of fraud the same.

At the end of the day, it's taking money

that is meant for the most vulnerable people in our community,

and it's also stealing taxpayers' money.

Back in 2010, the Merseyside fraud investigation team became involved

in a case that began following a tip-off

about Liverpool resident Mr Worton.

We received an anonymous allegation which stated that Mr Worton

was not only representing that he was too ill to work

but was so ill that he needed all this help

but also that he was not living at the address he said he was

but in fact was living with his partner

in the Dingle district of Liverpool.

It appeared that, since 1996,

Stephen Worton had been claiming benefits

including over £200 a month in Disability Living Allowance.

Stephen Worton claimed benefits in 1996

saying that he was so ill because of arthritis

he could barely walk,

he needed help to do the most simple of basic tasks.

He put on his original claim form

that if he needed to go to the toilet in the night,

he had to use a milk bottle.

He said he could only walk five or six yards

without having excruciating pain

and basically he needed the support

of a walking stick or a wall or a hand rail in order to get about

and he could only do so for two or three minutes at a time.

By January 2000, and lying about where he lived,

Worton had increased his claims to include

Income Support, Incapacity, Housing and Council Tax Benefits

amounting to a payment of around £10,000 a year.

In light of the tip-off,

an investigation started to gather evidence

that Worton was claiming money that he wasn't due.

In this case, because a lot of it

revolved around his level of disability or ability,

we did conduct extensive surveillance

to ascertain this gentleman's true capabilities.

We had to carry out surveillance over a number of months.

Again, we often have this scenario where a person will say,

"I have good days, I have bad days,"

and in particular, "You saw me on a good day,

"but you didn't see me on the bad days".

So we need to have surveillance over a prolonged period of time.

With the fraud team secretly filming Mr Worton's daily activities,

they came up with some rather interesting findings.

We found that although he'd said he was so ill he could barely walk,

in fact he was working as a roofer, running his own company,

earning in excess of £50,000, £60,000 a year.

Video footage was obtained

of him unpacking ladders from the top of his van

when he was running his two roofing firms.

Clearly, it painted a very different picture

than he had given to the department.

But not only did Mr Worton appear to be fit and healthy

but also very much financially in the pink.

With the net closing in, there was enough evidence to make an arrest.

When Mr Worton was arrested at his home address

in the Dingle part of Liverpool,

these were the videos that we recovered.

Mr Worton said that he was so disabled that he was

barely able to walk or undertake any physical task.

With regards to his personal hygiene, here we have Mr Worton

washing an elephant on his luxury holiday in Goa.

WOMEN LAUGH

This particular evidence demonstrates clearly that Mr Worton's

level of physical ability was much greater than he said

when he claimed, made his claim to benefit.

He's supposed to be suffering with arthritis to such an extent

that he can only walk a few yards without being in excruciating pain.

Here he is on his holiday in Goa, clearly able to stand,

there's no obvious impediment to his movement.

He's having a great time,

he's thoroughly enjoying a very expensive holiday.

And we've got pictures here of Mr Worton on his holiday

in Marmaris in Turkey,

driving a quad bike.

And on a camel presumably somewhere in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt,

where he actually enjoyed three holidays.

Clearly we can see here that he is again enjoying what

I would call a luxury holiday that's out of the reach of many people,

and definitely out of the reach of people

who are genuinely in receipt of benefit which they need.

'And as the investigation gathered more evidence,

'it appeared luxury holidays weren't the only thing on which

'Mr Worton was spending taxpayers' money.'

As part of our investigation we discovered that Mr Worton also

owned a motor cruiser which he had moored in the Lake District.

Obviously his pride and joy. He liked to act as the skipper of the ship.

He also had another holiday home in Martin Mere,

which, again, he paid a lot of money for,

money that he got by claiming benefit fraudulently.

'A man of very expensive tastes,

'the extent of Mr Worton's theft knew no bounds.'

A very substantial amount of evidence was gathered in this case

and, as you can see, it was more than just one simple file,

and that's what we need to ensure

that in these type of cases we do get a conviction when it comes to court.

I think there is something particularly upsetting

to see somebody abusing the system in this way.

Quite rightly, we have a system in place which helps people who have

disabilities to live the same life as those who are more able bodied.

I think Mr Worton took full advantage of the situation

and was quite happy to lie

and lie considerably in order to get the money to fund what

most people regard as a lifestyle that was lavish

and well beyond the means of many people who are in full-time work.

'With plenty of evidence on hand,

'the investigation finally came to a head.'

Stephen Worton appeared in court in 2014

and he pleaded guilty to all the charges that were put before him.

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison

and the judge described him as devious, callous and brazen, and said

that he'd enjoyed a lifestyle that many people could only dream about.

When sentencing him to 18 months in prison, the judge said that

only a prison sentence was merited for a fraud as serious as this.

'But Stephen Worton didn't act alone.

'His wife was also given a suspended 32-week sentence

'for her part in claiming just over £20,000 in benefits,

'and for both it doesn't end there.'

Mr Worton's been overpaid £85,000 of public funds.

He will have to pay that back, and we are pursuing him through a special

financial investigation unit,

which will look to seize any assets that he has.

'In many cases, though, the theft of money from the public purse

'isn't always so blatant.'

Can you do a check for me, please?

'Often it's far more stealthy.'

It's a criminal offence. You're breaking the law.

'Throughout the UK, people with disabilities are given a small

'helping hand by their local councils in the form of

'European parking badges, commonly known as Blue Badges.'

You're not getting the badge back now, no.

Right, morning, everybody. So, today, Operation Rio,

which is a highly visible Blue Badge operation.

'Unfortunately, the misuse of Blue Badges is commonplace,

'so Justin Philips, anti-fraud manager at Harrow Council,

'leads a team that works to catch offenders within the borough.'

In terms of cost to the UK economy, the last estimate by the government

was in the region of about £46-47 million a year.

That doesn't take into consideration at all

the impact upon people's lives

when they can't go about, you know, their business.

'At Harrow HQ, Justin briefs his team ahead of a one-day operation

'to catch offenders in the town centre.'

We will join Metropolitan Police.

It'll be a case of speaking to individuals parking or coming back

to vehicles that are displaying Blue Badges just to question

whether or not they're the badge holder.

'Police will back up the investigators on the ground,

'and they'll also be monitored on CCTV.

'But even so, they're not taking any chances.'

We'll be wearing stab vests today.

So in terms of any confrontation that should occur whilst

we're down operating, I'd advise people to withdraw straightaway,

or ask for support from police officer colleagues.

The investigators can't afford to be too careful,

and with the more extreme cases of Blue Badge fraud carrying

stiff penalties, they need to be prepared for every eventuality.

Out in the town centre, fraud investigator Sonia gets geared up.

Unfortunately, not everyone we meet is always the nicest,

so it's just protection for us. Just in case.

And then the first vehicle catches her eye.

I think the gentleman in the white car over there is about to

put a Blue Badge into his windscreen.

If he does, obviously we'll approach

and ask him if we can check the badge and see if he's a

legitimate badge holder, or where the legitimate badge holder is.

Generally what we see is what I tend to call "friends of family" abuse,

which is a genuine badge that's been issued to an individual,

and that badge is then passed around as a badge that everyone can use.

It may seem simple,

but catching badge misusers in the act is actually a difficult

process and involves staying in contact with headquarters.

They'll be able to tell us if the badge is a, I don't know,

89-year-old woman,

and then if we see a young guy in his 20s approaching the car

when they come back, then we obviously know that we need to find

out from them where the badge holder is.

With the owner of the white car taking his time,

Sonia decides to move on and quickly spots somebody else.

Hello, it's me. Hi. Can you do a quick check?

It's a four-wheel drive. Mitsubishi four-wheel drive. I mean, huge.

It's the size of a tank. Yeah.

While the team confirms more details about the Blue Badge

with their office, the owner of the vehicle returns.

-Is this your vehicle, then?

-Yeah.

-OK.

All right. We do it every so often

just to make sure that people are using the badges correctly.

No, I put the sticker in there.

-But I'm definitely 100%. I've got neurology...

-Oh, OK.

-..problems.

Right SPEECH INAUDIBLE

Right, OK.

One of the police officers double checks the woman's claim,

and this time there is no need for a caution.

We've checked the badge holder and it appears that the driver is

the badge holder, so everything seems to be legitimate in this case.

For offenders, whether a straightforward case of misuse

or more serious falsification of a badge, the penalties are costly.

Fines at court can range from anything from £500, which is quite

a steep fine for the sake of maybe parking for a half an hour period.

I'm going to take a wander down this way.

If we use that legislation,

then people can obviously receive much more severe sentences.

The team heads off in search of other bogus badge users,

and pretty quickly Sonia is back in action.

-Is it possible I can have a quick look?

-Yeah.

-Yeah? Thank you.

-Thank you very much. You all right?

-Yeah.

-OK. Who is this?

-My daughter.

-Where's your daughter, sir?

My daughter is home.

-Your daughter's at home?

-Yeah.

-OK.

If you're using this and your daughter's not with you,

you can be fined up to £1,000.

It's a criminal offence. You're breaking the law, OK?

It says on here that the badge holder needs to be with you when you park.

So what I'm going to do is caution you. OK?

-You do not have to say anything...

-OK.

OK. ..but it may harm your defence if you do not mention

when questioned something you later rely on in court.

I need to take some details from you

and I need to also take the badge from you.

Unfortunately, the situation doesn't get any better for this gentleman

who's issued a parking ticket while he's being cautioned.

You ring me tomorrow

and you make an appointment for you to come in and see me.

But I need to take some details from you first.

The problem is, sir, your one minute, ten minutes,

it doesn't make a difference. Your daughter's not...

There's nothing wrong with your legs. You can walk.

SPEECH INAUDIBLE

Well, unfortunately, because I've caught you misusing the badge,

I need you to come in and see me.

Classic case.

His daughter wasn't with him,

he came out to do some shopping and he though he'd use the badge

to be able to park for free

cos he didn't want to pay, and we've caught him misusing the badge.

Around 50% of people that the team stop are misusing their badges,

so operations like this one are well worth the effort.

We do this to try and send a message out to people that people need to

obey the rules if they've got the Blue Badges,

and we want to make sure that those who legitimately have a badge

actually have somewhere to park.

You're running the risk of getting a criminal record,

so we would say to people if you're contemplating it, don't do it.

It's simply not worth it, and the impact upon the vulnerable people

in the community is just, you know, it's completely selfish.

In Rochdale, local GP Dr Sundaresan was charged with fraud,

having doctored the records of 1,703 patients under his care in

order to receive publically-funded bonuses for his surgery.

The more distasteful element of this case is that his actions

actually placed his patients at an incredible risk

to their health and well-being.

If you think about it,

the GP was reporting that he had completed clinical procedures,

for example blood pressure, diabetic screening, when in fact he had not.

This could have had a detrimental effect on his patients who

could have failed to be treated in an appropriate manner.

One of Dr Sundaresan's patients, whose records were made to

look as though they'd had tests when they hadn't, was Pauline Mitchell.

I've got sonic lung disease.

I'm on oxygen 16 hours a day, plus I'm riddled with arthritis...

and I've got a lot of pain.

I mean a lot of pain.

Mrs Mitchell was approached by the team investigating the case

and was surprised by their questions.

The solicitor came to see me and I just couldn't believe it,

cos he said they were making a statement

cos they wanted to take Dr Sundaresan to court.

I said, "Who?" He said, "Dr Sundaresan."

I said, "You're joking."

I said, "What for?" He says, "Fraud."

And then they asked me

if I'd ever had my blood pressure taken on Good Friday and I said no.

I said because I wouldn't go to the surgery on Good Friday,

it'd be shut.

If the fraud hadn't been picked up, Mrs Mitchell would've been

just one of many patients facing potentially fatal consequences.

Obviously, with my condition, I go to the doctors quite a lot.

You know what I mean?

But you just don't think these things are going to come up.

This is a very important case. Not least because the person was a GP.

GP's are important people in the communities that they represent.

They're in an incredible position of trust.

After six years of hard work by the investigators,

the case finally came to court in March 2014.

Dr Sundaresan was convicted in relation

to £62,000 worth of fraud perpetrated against the National Health Service.

£62,000 could have funded the services of a senior nurse

for 12 months.

This is why NHS Protect are passionate about aggressively

and robustly sanctioning all instances of fraud against the NHS.

The judge...

sentenced Dr Sundaresan to nine months imprisonment

suspended for 18 months.

He was also ordered to pay £50,000 investigations costs, which is

a huge amount and I have never known such a large amount being awarded.

And having stolen from the NHS and put his patients at risk,

there's an even harsher sentence for the doctor.

Arising from his determination to achieve a maximum drawdown

payment, he's lost everything.

How he's going to make a living for himself in the near future,

I don't know, but it's going to have to be outside

the medical profession.

I can't believe he's ruined his career all for the sake

of being greedy.

Cos that's what it boils down to.