A 61-year-old Nigerian doctor living in the U.K., Dr. Richard Akinrolabu, has been sent to prison for three years after he admitted that he cheated the NHS out of more than £268,000.
He was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on 4 November 2025 after he pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud.
Dr. Akinrolabu worked as a specialist doctor in women’s health at Princess Royal University Hospital, which is part of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Between 2018 and 2021, he also worked night and on-call shifts at three other NHS trusts.
He did this while telling his main employer that he was not healthy enough to work nights or do heavy duties. Sometimes he even took sick leave or asked for lighter duties. Because of this, the hospital had to bring in temporary doctors to cover his shifts.
The fraud was discovered in 2021 when King’s College Hospital was told that he had been working night shifts at Basildon Hospital.
An investigation later found that he also worked extra shifts at Princess Alexandra Hospital, East Kent Hospitals, and Mid-South Essex NHS Trust.
He was questioned by investigators in 2022, but he refused to answer their questions. After more evidence was collected, he was charged and later convicted.
During sentencing, Judge David Miller said:
“You lied to the health department, to your coworkers, and to your employer. The public does not expect doctors to lie for their own gain.”
Ben Harrison, from the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, said the case showed a “clear and deliberate abuse of trust”, and that the money he took should have been used for patient care.
Dr. Akinrolabu had been in the news before. In 2006, he was cleared of a different case where he was accused of offering to carry out an illegal abortion.
The medical panel threw out the case because the evidence did not match, although he admitted he had an affair with the woman who made the complaint.