Fraudster posed as doctor in UK for 19 years, court hears

A “most accomplished fraudster” was paid between £1m and £1.3m by the NHS during the nearly two decades she posed as a qualified doctor after forging a degree certificate, a court has heard.

Zholia Alemi, believed to be 60 years old, worked as a psychiatrist in the UK for 19 years after claiming to have qualified at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, a trial at Manchester crown court heard. The defendant is accused of 20 offences, including forgery and fraud, which she denies.

The jury heard Alemi’s case was that she was appropriately qualified and documents demonstrating her qualifications were genuine.

She denies 13 counts of fraud, three counts of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception, two counts of forgery and two counts of using a false instrument.

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Source: The Guardian (paywalled)