A ROGUE former surgeon employed by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has been ordered to pay more than £330,000 in a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Sudip Sarker, 50, formerly of Botany Road, Broadstairs, Kent, appeared at Worcester Crown Court last Friday (May 31) and was ordered to pay back £337,214.78 within three months or face another three and a half years in prison.
This comes after Sarker was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment by the same court in February 2018, having been found guilty of fraud by misrepresentation.
Between August 2011 and October 2012, Sarker was employed as a surgeon at Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital.
When interviewed to work at the Trust, he claimed to have significant experience and expertise in relation to certain medical procedures which turned out to be untrue.
While working for the hospital, it soon became apparent that he did not have the required surgical abilities to fulfil his role, and mistakes were made.
Following several incidents the Trust launched an investigation which led to him being suspended and later dismissed from his post.
He was also formally suspended by the Royal College of Surgeons in October 2012.
The court heard Sarker used his position of trust to deceive Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust who would not have employed him had he told the truth about his level of skills and experience.
HMRC records for the period of 2011 to 2015 showed he received payments to the sum of £337,214.78 in respect of his employment with the Trust.
Detective Inspector Emma Wright from West Mercia Police’s Economic Crime Unit said: “West Mercia Police is committed to tackling serious and organised crime in order to protect vulnerable people from harm. This includes removing assets from those who have benefited from the proceeds of such crime.
“The Proceeds of Crime legislation is a powerful tool in the fight for justice and removing assets from the offender to rightly reimburse the victims of their crime, even if they have been subject to a custodial sentence.”
