Rise in fraud over phantom dental cases

Fraud investigators said they are hard pressed to cope with the mounting numbers of cases referred to them. One recent investigation involved tens of thousands of dental records at practices in the Midlands, Merseyside and Scotland.

The General Dental Council admitted that allegations of fraud and unjust claims for payment feature prominently among the numbers of complaints being made.

In one of the most recent cases, Liverpool dentist Robert Nolan was given a suspended jail sentence after a court heard how he claimed cash from the Dental Practice Board for fictitious patients. He also claimed payment for high-value work that was never carried out on genuine patients. Nolan, 44, who denied the charges, told the court much of the work was for asylum seekers and he had not done the correct paperwork.

Newton and Judith Johnson were jailed at Swansea Crown Court last year after admitting claiming payment for for phantom patients, including one in the name of their pet dog.

Johnson, 52, was jailed for 21 months and his wife, the manager at their Llanelli practice, for 18 months after the court heard of a "serious, substantial and prolonged" fraud.

In January, Mohammed Shiekh, 39, from Nottingham, was struck off after being found guilty of defrauding the NHS of £1.3m, by claiming "recall" fees for emergency treatment on "ghost" patients or people who did not require treatment.

David Hepplestone, from Scarborough, was also struck off last year after being jailed for four years for falsely claiming £440,000.