Three NHS admin workers who made £412k selling fake Covid 19 vaccine records during lockdown are jailed for 10 years

A trio of NHS workers who made £412k by selling fake Covid 19 vaccination records have been jailed for 10 years.

Hakeem Walters, 29, Rokibul Islam, 31, and Muhammed Ahmed, 27, made their fortune while employed as administrators in Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford.

They falsified records for 847 people at the Covid clinic to allow them to escape government lockdown rules and to travel abroad, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Kathryn Drummond, prosecuting, said: ‘They ultimately make profits at the expense of the wider public at a time of national crisis, namely the Covid pandemic.

‘Each of them held a position of trust at the relevant time as an employee within the NHS.

‘They falsified 1,648 vaccine records relating to 847 individuals. They did so for profit.

‘That enabled those 847 people to enjoy additional freedom in times of lockdown, freedoms reserved for those vaccinated against Covid-19.’

The trio charged people £250 each for fake vaccine records.

Islam had access to the National Immunisation Vaccination System (NIVS), the court heard.

‘Mr Islam sold his confidential login details to Mr Ahmed for £1,000,’ Ms Drummond said.

Ms Drummond added Islam began his work as a Band 3 administrator and clerical bank worker for the vaccine project in June 2021.

‘Every single vaccine record associated with his login was false. He began his work in the NHS at a time of crisis. He obtained wide access. He sold wider access for one thousand pounds. He never created any true or honest vaccination’, she said.

Once the entries were submitted the NHS Covid-19 App showed people were fully vaccinated.

‘That would enable them to travel, attend certain venues, apply for work, jobs that had restrictions in place,’ the prosecutor added.

Sentencing, Judge Sally-Ann Hales said: ‘Between August 17 and December 13 2021 you conspired to hack the NHS computer system to create false Covid vaccination records. You did so to make a financial gain for yourselves.

‘The evidence indicates that these conspiracies involved more people than just you three.

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