A SERIAL fraudster who managed to blag his way into top jobs in the NHS using invented qualifications is to be sentenced in January. after pleading guilty to six counts of fraud.

Conrad de Souza, 57, of Brompton Park Crescent, Fulham was first imprisoned for 27 months in 2011 for faking medical qualifications in order to hold clinical guidance roles and was also ordered to repay the NHS £270,000.

De Souza quickly settled back into his old ways upon his release and on September 24, 2013 he lied about his employment and qualifications in order to get the position of fellow in health at the Office for Public Management.

He lied about his employment and qualifications again later that year on October 31 to Slough Borough Council, as well as lying about his previous convictions. This was as part of his application for the post of head of service for the town’s Care Commissioning Group.

He then went on to lie to several other bodies, including Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and C4H Resourcing, for various other top NHS posts. If he had been successful at application stage, the post he would have held at Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead CCG was for the director of development commissioning.

He was first convicted after he lied about being a qualified doctor.

The fib enabled him to work in well-paid roles for Lewisham Primary Care Trust for nine years, between 2001 to 2010, receiving over £329,000 of NHS money in fraudulently obtained earnings.

De Souza knew when he applied for the roles that it was an essential requirement to have a degree and clinical specialisms, but he had neither.

NHS Protect Anti-Fraud Specialist Dave Horsley hopes that a new sentence could finally send a strong message to de Souza.

He said: “It seems that a 27-month custodial sentence in 2011, plus being ordered to repay the NHS £270,000 in 2012, was not a sufficient deterrent last time.

“I am hoping he has finally learned his lesson and starts being honest with any prospective employers.”

De Souza will be sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday, January 12, 2017. ‘I am hoping he has finally learned his lesson’ Dave Horsley, anti-fraud specialist