A senior GP was today jailed for three years and four months after stealing a staggering £1.1million of NHS money to fund his ‘desperate’ addiction to online gambling.
Rumi Chapia, 45 was a respected and popular doctor. He then stole funds from a group of healthcare professionals in 65 transfers spread over 41 days in 2020. This money was used to buy slot machines and roulette and pay off debts.
He took the money from Portsmouth Primary Care Alliance Limited, a group of GPs in Hampshire that he established, which was responsible for tendering out-of hours GP services.
After being appointed to its accounting department, the family doctor was able to defraud the group. This left its finances in chaos and made it dependent on other doctors for therapy.
Portsmouth Crown Court heard he gambled away a total of £2.5million, of which he regained £1.2million of his losses.
Portsmouth Crown Court heard that senior GP Dr Rumi Chhapia embezzled a staggering £1.13million from PPCA, a healthcare group he founded, immediately after being put in charge of the accounts
Last August, Mark Stubbings was taken over for PPCA’s finances. Chhapia volunteered as director to manage the accounts.
But Mr Stubbings kept a ‘watching brief’ and raised the alarm when he saw its £1 million account was reduced by £600,000, prosecutor Matthew Lawson said.
Chhapia, who was confronted by the police, claimed that he had been victim to cybercrime and was continuing to embezzle funds.
The GP said to Mr Stubbings that it was fraud. My Amazon account and PayPal were hacked.
He promised no more PPCA money would be transferred, yet continued to do so and from August 20 to September 30 last year he embezzled £1,133,704.50.
Police investigated and Chhapia admitted, ‘I f****d up’.
The fraudster was described as “relatively unsophisticated” as he transferred money into his own accounts.
Of the £1.13 million he embezzled, he paid back £238,000 and gambling companies will pay back £904,000.
All money raised by PPCA is used to develop its 16 GP practices.
Judge Keith Cutler, sentencing Chhapia for fraud by abuse of position, said: ‘You abused the trust placed on you and took £1.1 million from the PPCA, money which should have been for GP surgeries to develop their services.
“This is an extremely serious abrogation in your doctoral responsibilities.
You were not honest in your duty to your patients as a general practitioner.
“You were lured by your gambling addiction.”
He said, “You’re a good man, have great references, you’re a GP with such skills that people have written me to you, and your expertise has been demonstrated time and again, so you’re a respected and popular doctor.”
“The judge does not want to send such a man, such as yourself, into prison.
Matthew Lawson, prosecuting, told the court that Chhapia, from Southsea, stole a total of £1,133,704.50.
Lawson stated that he had made a complete confession about taking money from the PPCA.
“He was in financial difficulties and had tried to fix his finances by online gambling, but he lost more.
He stated that the defendant could have access to the funds even though a colleague had signed off sick.
According to him, Chhapia continued to steal money even after being challenged by his colleagues.
Lawson said that his gambling addiction had escalated. He had remortgaged and lost his vehicle, and was unable to repay his family’s debts. However, Lawson used this opportunity to transfer money to his personal account in order to play roulette and slot machines.
The PPCA provided a statement to the court that stated staff needed counseling and Portsmouth residents had ‘lost a bit of NHS money that could have been used for their care’.
Mr Lawson added that any negotiations with the gambling companies led to them refunding the remaining £900,004 of the stolen money.
This would mean that the PPCA should refund all the money taken by Chhapia who was convicted for drunk-driving.
Stan Reiz, QC from Defending Chhapia said that it was six weeks of madness.
“He’s a talented, hardworking doctor, who is honest, and trustworthy. He has displayed a behavior that is completely out of his character. This isn’t a sign of weakness, but rather a result of the perfect storm.
Judge Keith Cutler, sentencing Chhapia at Portsmouth Crown Court for fraud by abuse of position, said: ‘You abused the trust placed on you and took £1.1 million from the PPCA, money which should have been for GP surgeries to develop their services’
“This is a tragic and unusual case.
His respected colleagues have provided references that describe him as a honest, hardworking man who has never acted out of character.
“He had financial troubles, made worse by Covid Pandemic.
“This was made worse by his gambling disorder. It was not yet diagnosed but it is now.
“He feels deeply sorry for all the suffering he caused, and takes complete responsibility for any wrongdoing.
“He embarrassed his company, which he had built from scratch, and himself during six weeks of insane behavior.
“He had the illusion that he would win. He was fed by an addiction and felt that he was just one win away.
“The desperate situation in which he was found was so dire that he couldn’t see a way to pay back the money, he gambled more.
Reiz said that Chhapia approached gambling companies and made arrangements for them to return the money, claiming it was proceeds from crime.
The 45 year old, who earned nearly £200,000 a year, lied to suspicious colleagues that he was ‘hacked’ due to cyber crime as he made a total of 65 transfers to his own bank account.
He said that Chhapia, who has twice caught Covid, had continued to work in A&E following his arrest and said: ‘During the second wave of the pandemic he was working in a hospital on the Isle of Wight and his conduct was described by some of his colleagues as excellent.’
Judge Keith Cutler added: ‘You abused the trust placed on you and took £1.13 million from the PPCA, money which in my judgement should have been for GP surgeries to develop their services.
“This is an extremely serious violation of your doctor’s responsibilities.. Your duty was to give the best possible care to your patients.
“In all likelihood, you were seduced to your gambling addiction and that it wasn’t a one-off.”
Judge Cutler stated that each time Chhapia transferred funds, he “must have believed that I shouldn’t be doing it.”
The doctor was criticised for lying to colleagues and he said that the financial damage done was significant.
Chhapia of Portsmouth resigned in October 2013 and admitted to fraud by using his position.