NZ woman jailed in the UK after working as fake doctor for 22 years
20 Nov, 2018 7:53am
2 minutes to read
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Zholia Alemi, 56, said she had a degree from the University of Auckland and had been working as a psychiatrist for more than 20 years in the UK. Photo / Supplied
NZ Herald
A New Zealand woman has been jailed in the UK after she was found to have provided fake qualifications to work as a doctor for more than two decades.
Zholia Alemi was last month jailed for five years after eventually being found out when she was convicted of trying to fake the will of an elderly woman, the Daily Mail Australiareported.
Had she been successful, she would have stolen up to £1.3 million (NZ$2.4m) of the woman's fortune.
The New Zealander's two-decade deception has sparked urgent checks in Britain - with 3000 foreign doctors to have their credentials investigated.
Alemi, 56, is said to have provided a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery certificate from the University of Auckland when she arrived in the UK in the early 1990s.
However, in reality, she held a degree in human biology.
For the next 22 years, starting in 1995, she worked as a psychiatrist for the UK's National Health Service - treating thousands of mental health patients over that period and potentially earning up to £100,000 ($188,000) a year.
She also reportedly drove a Lotus Elise sports car.
A judge described her as "despicable'' when she was sentenced last month, according to the newspaper.
Alemi was last month found guilty of four fraud and theft charges after a week-long trial at Carlisle Crown Court.
The New Zealander had met Gillian Belham, now aged 87, at a dementia clinic in Workington in February 2016.
Within four months she had redrafted Belham's will - and fraudulently applied for power of attorney.
Belham's extended family and a raft of charities were "entirely written out" of the bogus will.
Instead Belham's assets were to be held in trust for the benefit of Alemi's grandchildren.
Judge James Adkin said Alemi's offending was "wicked": "This was despicable, cruel criminality motivated by pure greed and you must be severely punished for it."
20 Nov, 2018 7:53am
2 minutes to read
Zholia Alemi, 56, said she had a degree from the University of Auckland and had been working as a psychiatrist for more than 20 years in the UK. Photo / Supplied
NZ Herald
A New Zealand woman has been jailed in the UK after she was found to have provided fake qualifications to work as a doctor for more than two decades.
Zholia Alemi was last month jailed for five years after eventually being found out when she was convicted of trying to fake the will of an elderly woman, the Daily Mail Australiareported.
Had she been successful, she would have stolen up to £1.3 million (NZ$2.4m) of the woman's fortune.
The New Zealander's two-decade deception has sparked urgent checks in Britain - with 3000 foreign doctors to have their credentials investigated.
Alemi, 56, is said to have provided a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery certificate from the University of Auckland when she arrived in the UK in the early 1990s.
However, in reality, she held a degree in human biology.
For the next 22 years, starting in 1995, she worked as a psychiatrist for the UK's National Health Service - treating thousands of mental health patients over that period and potentially earning up to £100,000 ($188,000) a year.
She also reportedly drove a Lotus Elise sports car.
A judge described her as "despicable'' when she was sentenced last month, according to the newspaper.
Alemi was last month found guilty of four fraud and theft charges after a week-long trial at Carlisle Crown Court.
The New Zealander had met Gillian Belham, now aged 87, at a dementia clinic in Workington in February 2016.
Within four months she had redrafted Belham's will - and fraudulently applied for power of attorney.
Belham's extended family and a raft of charities were "entirely written out" of the bogus will.
Instead Belham's assets were to be held in trust for the benefit of Alemi's grandchildren.
Judge James Adkin said Alemi's offending was "wicked": "This was despicable, cruel criminality motivated by pure greed and you must be severely punished for it."
