Jailed Stourbridge dentist’s fraud haul unknown

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The extent of a jailed dentist’s fraudulent activity remains unknown after police revealed that a large proportion of the activity had been cleverly disguised and concealed.

Jas Bachada and his colleague, Ikhlaq Hussain were jailed after fellow workers raised suspicions of fraud and started to gather evidence against the two men. On one occasion, a colleague took a computer disc from the practice and was apparently chased at high speed and intimidated by Hussain; the colleague raced to the police station in the car and handed in the disc.

The investigation found that Bachada and Hussain had been wrongly charging patients, including old age pensioners and people on benefits who should have been exempt from charges, private rates instead of NHS charges. Over the course of four years, the pair made thousands of pounds at their practice in Droitwich.

Investigators from the NHS Counter Fraud Service said that Bachada should not have been working in Worcestershire at the time and was using false identities to claim NHS payments. Representatives from the Counter Fraud team said it had taken years to carry out the investigation due to the complex nature of the case; the dentists had covered their tracks well, attempted to hide evidence and failed to keep their financial records in an appropriate manner. Police uncovered a large haul of patient records in a garden shed.

The judge at the trial claimed that the NHS could not continue to run without trustworthy professionals and accused the dentists of betraying patients and exploiting their position. Dudley Primary Care Trust is now calling for both dentists to be struck off the register. 

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