The United Kingdom’s National Health Service Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) has secured a three-year prison sentence for Nigerian doctor Richard Akinrolabu, who defrauded the NHS of £268,000 by falsely claiming to be unfit for work.
According to the NHSCFA, Akinrolabu, a trust grade specialist registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology at Princess Royal University Hospital, misled his employer between 2018 and 2021 by claiming he could not work night shifts or on-call duties due to illness. Meanwhile, he secretly worked the same shifts at other hospitals.
The NHSCFA statement said, “Between October 2018 and December 2021, he worked on-call and night shifts at three additional trusts, despite informing his employer that he was unfit to do the same work for them. As well as paying Dr Akinrolabu his full salary, the trust had to employ locums to cover these shifts.”
The fraud was uncovered in November 2021 when King’s College Hospital received information that Akinrolabu was working night shifts at Basildon Hospital. Investigations confirmed he had not sought or received permission for secondary employment, and timesheet records showed most of the shifts were at night or on-call.
Following an NHSCFA investigation and a formal interview in 2022—during which he declined to comment—Akinrolabu was charged with four counts of fraud by false representation. He pleaded guilty to all charges at Woolwich Crown Court on September 3, 2025, and was sentenced on November 4.
In delivering the sentence, His Honour Judge David Miller stated: “You lied to occupational health, your colleagues, and your employer. The public doesn’t expect doctors to lie for personal gain.”
Ben Harrison, NHSCFA Head of Operations, described the case as “a clear and deliberate abuse of trust by an NHS professional who knowingly breached the conditions of his employment for personal gain. By working additional on-call and night shifts despite being unfit, Akinrolabu defrauded the NHS of substantial funds that should have supported patient care.”
This case adds to a growing list of Nigerians convicted for fraudulent practices abroad. Earlier this year, Farouk Adekunle Adepoju was arrested in the UK following US charges of wire and computer fraud involving impersonation and diversion of payments from a Pennsylvania construction company.
