Published: January 27, 2012

A HOSPITAL porter who worked illegally at Moorfields Eye Hospital for six years has been jailed for 15 months at Blackfriars Crown Court.

Herbert Sengati, 35, gave a falsified passport to support his application for the job of hospital porter. A false visa stamp in the passport stated he had indefinite leave to remain in the UK from March 2000, which he did not.

Sengati, whose fraud cost the NHS £116,648 in salary payments and costs, pleaded guilty to forgery and theft offences last month.

His deception was uncovered by the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), which can match NHS trust payroll records against Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data.

The NFI identified that Sengati’s national insurance number at the NHS did not match that held by DWP, and NHS Protect was called in. Checks with the UK Border Agency revealed the visa stamp was a forgery.

Records showed Sengati was refused asylum in January 2004 and was immediately served with papers ordering him to leave the UK.

The porter was arrested at work in January last year.

Mick Hayes, of NHS Protect, said: “Herbert Sengati knew what he was doing when he provided the NHS with a forged document. He denied a legitimate applicant the opportunity of NHS employment.”