Birmingham dentist in £1.4m NHS fraud told to pay cash back

A dentist in Birmingham jailed for seven years for defrauding the NHS out of £1.4 million, has been ordered to pay the money back.

Joyce Trail was convicted in October 2012 for submitting over 7,000 false claims for work she never carried out, using the names of dead people and patients she had never met. Her practice was based on Hamstead Road in the Handsworth area of the city, from where she filed the fraudulent invoices.

Above ITV News Central reporter Callum Watkinson explains how Dr Joyce Trail carried out one of the biggest cases of fraud the NHS has ever seen.

Trail owned three properties, including her home in the exclusive area of Little Aston in Sutton Coldfield. She also amassed valuables including cars, jewellery and other items during the time she was committing her fraud.

A judge at Warwick Crown Court issued a confiscation order of £358,281.87 which she must pay within 18 months. The court also issued Trail a compensation order of £1,376,423.83, meaning any assets she has now (or receives in future) up to this amount are liable to be claimed by the NHS.

Reacting to the court ruling that a dentist in Birmingham who defrauded the NHS out of more than £1.4 million for false work claims, the head of the National Investigation Service at NHS Protect, said: