A MAN who was arrested getting off of a plane at Heathrow Airport after conning doctors’ surgeries out of more than �1m has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
Mark Hazelwood, 48, from Tower View in Whitwell, was handed the sentence on Friday at Cambridge Crown Court. It follows a two-week trial at the court six weeks ago, where a jury unanimously found him guilty of fraudulent trading.
The conman had been selling locum insurance to 250 doctors’ surgeries. He made �1.2m from the scheme and only passed �208,000 of that to underwriters.
After a lengthy police investigation Hazelwood, was charged with two counts of fraudulent trading and struck off by the FSA.
Found to be residing in the Far East, he was finally arrested at Heathrow Airport in March last year.
When sentencing him, the judge said that Hazelwood was “an out and out fraudster”.
Dc Jim Frost from the Economic Crime Unit added: “This case disproves the popular misconception that fraud is a victimless crime. In this case, Mark Hazelwood defrauded doctors’ surgeries, which impacts on all those who use the NHS.
“I am pleased the seriousness of his crimes has been reflected in the sentence handed to him.”
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