A Kiwi woman who fraudulently practised as a psychiatrist in the UK for years despite never qualifying as a doctor has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Zholia Alemi posed as a psychiatrist with the National Health Service (NHS) for nearly 20 years, being paid around $2 million during that period.
Having previously been sentenced for attempting to defraud an elderly woman out of £1.3 million (NZ$2.5 million), Alemi reappeared before the court in Manchester, facing 13 fraud charges.
Of those charges, she faced three counts of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception, two counts of forgery and two counts of using a false instrument.
The jury found her guilty, and the judge sentenced her to seven years imprisonment.
Alemi obtained her doctor’s registration after applying to the UK’s general Medical Council in 1995, using multiple forged documents.
These included forged degrees from the University of Auckland, a letter of verification and references from a hospital in Pakistan.
She practised in Northern Ireland and Manchester, eventually reaching consultant status in 2003 after passing assessments with the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
In 2012 she was employed as a section 12 practitioner, a role which allowed her to hold authority over patients.
She practised across the UK before moving to Cumbria, where she came to the attention of local police following concerns raised by Cumbria Adult Social Care safeguarding leads.
Following an investigation, she was found guilty of attempting to defraud a wealthy elderly woman out of £1.3 million in 2018.
According to Cumbria Police, a journalist working for the News & Star made his own inquiries with the University of Auckland, who established the woman was never a qualified doctor.
Following an international investigation, multiple forged degrees were found, and it was discovered the Pakistani hospital the woman claimed she worked at never existed.
Cumbria Police Detective Superintendent Matt Scott called her “manipulative”.
“Alemi is a manipulative criminal who fraudulently obtained a critical health care role which involved important responsibilities about people’s lives – despite never having obtained the most fundamental qualification to start her career.”
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