Fraudster who pocketed council cash one year after patient died walks free from court

A fraudster who continued to pocket cash after the person they were caring for had died has walked free from court. Felicitas Ndavambi, from Penn, claimed payments from Wolverhampton Council even though the person they had been looking after had been dead for a year.

The convict was employed by a service user who received a Direct Payment from the council to pay for their care at home. They died in 2022 but Ndavambi carried on claiming the funding.

The scam was only uncovered almost a year after the person had died. Ndavambi has since been handed a suspended sentence for the fraud.

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In March 2023, a social worker discovered the service user had died almost a year earlier. The council had not been notified of their death.

An investigation by the council's counter fraud team discovered Ndavambi submitted regular timesheets and claimed funding for care even after the service user's death. Sentencing at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Recorder Mills said: "You breached trust and it is an insult to those you know who work tirelessly and honestly in the caring system.

Ndavambi admitted dishonestly making a false representation during a previous hearing at Dudley Magistrates' Court. The defendant was handed a 12-month sentence, suspended for 12 months on Friday, May 3.

Ndavambi was also made subject to a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement, ordered to pay £150 costs and told to pay a £156 victim surcharge. Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the council's cabinet member for adults and wellbeing, said: "Wolverhampton Council operates a zero-tolerance policy on fraud and will not hesitate to take action as appropriate, such as in this case in which a carer sought to commit fraud against the council – and, ultimately, the city's taxpayers – for nearly a year."