Three NHS administrators who pocketed £412,000 by creating fake Covid-19 vaccination records for 847 people desperate to escape lockdown restrictions have been jailed for a combined total of ten years at Southwark Crown Court.
Hakeem Walters, 29, Rokibul Islam, 31, and Muhammed Ahmed, 27, abused their positions of trust at a vaccine centre in Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford, to orchestrate a sophisticated fraud scheme during the height of the pandemic. The trio falsified 1,648 vaccine records between August and December 2021, charging customers £250 each for the fraudulent certificates that allowed them to travel abroad and access venues restricted to vaccinated individuals.
Judge Sally-Ann Hales condemned their actions as “serious offences committed during the pandemic” that posed self-evident risks to public health, sentencing Ahmed and Walters to four years and four months each, whilst Islam received one year and seven months imprisonment.
Prosecutor Kathryn Drummond told the court that the defendants “ultimately make profits at the expense of the wider public at a time of national crisis” whilst holding positions of trust within the NHS. The scheme enabled hundreds of unvaccinated individuals to “enjoy additional freedoms in times of lockdown, freedoms reserved for those vaccinated against Covid-19.”
The Sophisticated Fraud Operation
The conspiracy began when Islam, employed as a Band 3 administrator and clerical bank worker for the NHS vaccine project from June 2021, sold his confidential login credentials to the National Immunisation Vaccination System (NIVS) to Ahmed for £1,000. This crucial access allowed the fraudsters to create entirely false vaccination records that appeared legitimate on the NHS Covid-19 App.
“Every single vaccine record associated with his login was false,” Ms Drummond emphasised. “He began his work in the NHS at a time of crisis. He obtained wide access. He sold wider access for one thousand pounds. He never created any true or honest vaccination.”
The prosecutor revealed that once the fraudulent entries were submitted, the NHS Covid-19 App would show individuals as fully vaccinated, enabling them to “travel, attend certain venues, apply for work, jobs that had restrictions in place” during a period when proof of vaccination was essential for many aspects of daily life.
The scheme operated between August 17 and December 13, 2021, during which time the UK was still implementing various Covid restrictions and vaccine passports were required for international travel and access to numerous venues. Each customer paid £250 for their fake vaccination status, generating the trio’s substantial illegal income.
Breach of Public Trust During National Crisis
Judge Hales highlighted the severity of the breach of trust, noting that the evidence indicated “these conspiracies involved more people than just you three” and that the defendants had taken sophisticated steps to conceal their activities over several months.
Addressing Walters specifically, the judge stated: “You abused your position of trust over a number of months. You did so in a sophisticated way, taking steps to conceal what you were doing.”
The court heard that whilst Walters claimed to be motivated by “genuine anti-vax beliefs” rather than financial gain, the judge dismissed this defence, emphasising the serious nature of the offences regardless of motivation.
“Four years on it is too easy to forget how important the vaccine scheme was in preventing deaths and protecting vulnerable members of the public,” Judge Hales said. “People no different from your parents who all have health issues.”
Public Health Implications
The fraud’s potential impact on public health formed a central part of the prosecution’s case. Ms Drummond stressed that the scheme operated “at the expense of the wider public at a time of national crisis” when the vaccine programme was crucial to the UK’s pandemic response.
The 847 individuals who purchased fake vaccination records were able to circumvent public health measures designed to protect vulnerable populations. During the period of the fraud, vaccine passports were required for international travel, entry to nightclubs and large events, and in some cases for employment in sectors such as healthcare and social care.
Medical experts have emphasised that vaccine passports were implemented not merely as administrative measures but as vital tools to reduce transmission rates and protect those unable to be vaccinated due to medical conditions. By creating false records, the defendants potentially exposed countless individuals to increased risk of infection.
The Vaccine Centre Operation
The Westfield Shopping Centre vaccine hub in Stratford was one of dozens of mass vaccination centres established across London during the pandemic rollout. These centres were staffed by a combination of clinical staff administering vaccines and administrative personnel managing appointments and records.
The defendants exploited their administrative roles, which gave them access to the NIVS system used to record vaccinations across the NHS. This system was critical to the UK’s vaccine rollout, tracking doses administered and generating the digital certificates used for the NHS Covid Pass.
Security protocols were supposed to prevent such fraud, with individual logins tracked and regular audits of vaccination records. However, the defendants managed to evade detection for four months, highlighting vulnerabilities in the system during the unprecedented scale of the vaccine programme.
Wider Criminal Network Suspected
Judge Hales’ observation that the conspiracies “involved more people than just you three” suggests the fraud may have been part of a larger criminal network. Investigators believe the trio may have been supplying fake vaccination records to organised crime groups who then sold them on at inflated prices.
The court heard that the sophisticated nature of the fraud, including methods to conceal the false entries and the volume of records created, indicated a well-planned operation potentially involving others who have not been prosecuted.
Law enforcement agencies have not ruled out further arrests and prosecutions related to the scheme. The National Crime Agency has previously warned about organised crime groups exploiting the pandemic for profit, from PPE fraud to fake vaccination certificates.
Previous Covid Fraud Cases
This case adds to a growing list of Covid-related fraud prosecutions across the UK. Earlier this year, Wayne Knight, 40, a senior healthcare worker at North East London NHS Foundation Trust, was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment for creating 238 false vaccination records.
In another high-profile case, Kieron Sylvester from Birmingham avoided jail despite creating over 1,000 fake vaccination records, earning between £100 and £150 for each fraudulent entry. He received a two-year suspended sentence after the judge noted the lack of proper investigation into who had purchased the fake certificates.
The Crown Prosecution Service has established specialist teams to tackle Covid fraud, with prosecutors emphasising their commitment to bringing those who exploited the pandemic for profit to justice.
Sentencing and Accountability
The sentences handed down reflect the serious nature of the offences and their potential impact on public health. Ahmed and Walters each received four years and four months imprisonment, whilst Islam’s lesser sentence of one year and seven months reflected his more limited role in the conspiracy.
All three defendants, who admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and conspiracy to cause a computer to perform a function with intent, will serve at least half their sentences before being eligible for release on licence.
Islam, of Ettrick Street, Tower Hamlets; Walters, of Brooke Road, Hackney; and Ahmed, of Courtland Avenue, Ilford, showed no emotion as their sentences were delivered.
Judge Hales concluded: “These offences are so serious that only immediate custodial sentences are appropriate. The damage occasioned is to the wider public.”
The case serves as a stark reminder of how criminals sought to exploit the pandemic for profit, undermining public health measures at a time of national crisis. As the UK continues to grapple with the long-term impacts of Covid-19, including the ongoing public inquiry into the pandemic response, cases like this highlight the challenges faced by authorities in maintaining the integrity of vital health programmes.
The NHS Counter Fraud Authority continues to investigate Covid-related fraud, with officials warning that such crimes diverted resources from genuine healthcare needs during the most challenging period in the health service’s history. The authority estimates that Covid fraud cost the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds, money that could have been spent on patient care and pandemic response.
As society moves forward from the pandemic, the sentences handed down today send a clear message that those who exploited the crisis for personal gain will face serious consequences, even years after their crimes were committed.
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