A nurse from Rickmansworth has been jailed for fraud after lying about her qualifications.

Tanya Nasir was sentenced to five years behind bars at Cardiff Crown Court today, after she was found guilty of nine charges, including fraud, using a false instrument with intent, possession of articles for use in fraud and securing unauthorised access to computer material with intent.

The 45-year-old's deception began in 2010, when she failed to disclose a conviction while studying for a diploma in Higher Nursing Education from Buckinghamshire New University, and fabricated a letter from the Hertfordshire Probation Service.

From February 2013 to October 2015, Nasir was employed as a Staff Nurse Assistant at Hillingdon Hospital, and then worked for a short period at Spire Bushey Hospital in Watford as a Band 5 Registered General Nurse, before returning to Hillingdon until June 2019.

In September 2019, Nasir was employed in the role of a Band 7 Ward Manager at the Neonatal Ward of the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, but it was discovered that information she gave on her application forms for employment there, and for two applications to Hillingdon Hospital, was false.

In January 2020, concerns were raised by her line manager at the Princess of Wales Hospital during a routine revalidation of her Nursing and Midwifery Council registration, who discovered inconsistencies with her references following further checks of her application and CV.

Nasir was subsequently suspended from her post in February 2020, and the investigation commenced which discovered anomalies with the defendant’s qualifications.

In her application she claimed she had qualified as a nurse and became registered with the Nursing Midwifery Council in 2010. However, officers confirmed with the university that she did not qualify until 2014.

Further checks were made with four other universities she claimed to have obtained qualifications from, with three confirming she never attended.

The fourth confirmed that she did attend but did not have any record of her being awarded one of the qualifications outlined in her application.

Previous employers listed were also contacted, many of which confirmed that Nasir was either not employed in the role she claimed to have worked in or that she had never been employed by them in any capacity.

In all three applications, Nasir claimed that she had served in the military and that she had been shot twice while deployed overseas. The investigation discovered that she had never been in the army or the army reserves.

She had joined the Cadet Force in November 2013, but was discharged and struck off in May 2016, without ever being deployed in active combat or conflict.

When applying for a role at Hillingdon Hospital in 2015, one of the references given was from a Commanding Officer in the Territorial Army. The email address she provided for the reference was the one assigned to Nasir while she was in the Cadet Force. She used this address to fabricate her own reference and bolster her fraudulent job applications.

In July 2019, Nasir provided a reference containing lies and fabrications on behalf of another woman to enable her to also gain employment within the NHS.

On April 21, 2021, Nasir was arrested. Her property was searched, and digital devices and documents were seized. When presented with the large amount of evidence compiled by the prosecution, the jury found the defendant guilty.

Nasir was prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service following an investigation by the NHS Local Counter Fraud Authority.

Gayle Ramsay, specialist prosecutor for the CPS, said: "Tanya Nasir deliberately lied about her qualifications and work experience so that she could gain employment in a senior and sensitive nursing role where she would be entrusted with the responsibility of caring for new-born babies. 

"She went to incredible lengths to manipulate her way into positions that demand integrity and honesty, yet showed none. Not only did she betray the trust of her employers and colleagues, but her actions put the lives of vulnerable patients at significant risk. 

"Working with investigators at the NHS Local Counter Fraud Authority, the prosecution was able to piece together a large amount of evidence and present it to a jury who saw through her lies and found her guilty."