Dentist from Surrey Jailed for NHS Fraud

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A 68-year-old dentist from Surrey has been given three years in jail after defrauding the NHS out of more than £222,000.

At a previous hearing at Guildford Crown Court, Mark Walewski, who formally ran the New Dental Surgery in Hindhead, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud. The surgery is now owned and run by a different practice.

The court heard that the scam, which went on for six years, involved 6,608 payment claims for work that had never been done or work that had been privately paid for. Walewski admitted two counts of fraud by abuse of position and two counts of obtaining money transferred by deception. 17 additional charges remain on file.

After the hearing, NHS Protect’s managing director Sue Frith said that Walewski deliberately stole money meant for use in private care. She said he abused his position of trust in order to enjoy a lifestyle that the average taxpayer cannot afford.

At first, Walewski denied the charges and suggested that a dental nurse may have accidentally made the claims, leading to the arrest of another staff member.

Judge Stephen Climie, who jailed Walewski, said that the dentist grossly abused his position of trust and patient’ records now do not reflect the truth of their treatment. In one claim, four siblings were given an identical filling, all on the same day. Another claim was made for an examination of a 17-day-old baby, who had no teeth.

Walewski had a £34,000 NHS contract and his annual income was £150,000. The court heard that he had been making false claims between 2006 and 2012. The total loss to the NHS was £222,703.34.

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