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Theft

NHS Doctor and Husband Jailed for Selling Stolen PPE on eBay

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A doctor and her husband, Attiya Sheikh and Omer Sheikh, have been sentenced to ten months in jail for selling stolen personal protective equipment (PPE) on eBay during the COVID-19 pandemic. The duo made almost £8,000 by selling gloves, face masks, and wipes stolen from the NHS. The crimes came to light after Fannin Ltd, a PPE supplier, discovered its goods for sale online. The investigation, led by NHS Scotland counter-fraud services, identified four separate eBay accounts connected to the Sheikhs, which were selling PPE items for £15 to £20 a box.

Key Takeaways:

  • Dr. Attiya Sheikh, a 46-year-old doctor from Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride, and her husband Omer Sheikh, 48, were jailed for ten months for selling stolen PPE on eBay.
  • The couple made almost £8,000 from selling gloves, face masks, and wipes stolen from the NHS during the pandemic.
  • The crimes came to light after Fannin Ltd, a PPE supplier, discovered its goods for sale online.
  • NHS Scotland counter-fraud services began investigating the potential theft and resale of PPE in July 2020.
  • The investigation identified four separate eBay accounts selling PPE items connected to the Sheikhs.
  • Detectives found 121 boxes of rubber gloves and a box of face masks in the couple's attic during a search warrant in October 2020.
  • Dr. Sheikh claimed she was given the gloves at the hospital, but the court found her guilty of breaching trust and endangering colleagues and their families.
  • The maximum sentence available to the judge was 12 months in jail, but it was reduced to ten months due to the couple's early guilty pleas.

Statistics:

  • £8,000: approximate amount made by the couple from selling stolen PPE on eBay.
  • £15-£20: price range at which the couple sold PPE items on eBay.
  • 121: number of boxes of rubber gloves found in the couple's attic.
  • 12: maximum months in jail the judge could have sentenced.
  • 10: actual months in jail the couple was sentenced to.

Sources:

  • "NHS doctor and husband jailed for selling stolen PPE on eBay", BBC News (no publication date).
  • "Couple jailed after they sold stolen NHS PPE on eBay during Covid pandemic", The Telegraph (no publication date).

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