Islander faces jail for hospital swindle

- Thu 17th Feb 2005

A MAN who swindled BUPA out of more than £230,000 with bogus purchase orders for a Horley hospital has been warned he faces jail.

Glynn Rapley, 55, of Laburnham Grove Hayling Island and Justin Clifford-Field, 50, ran companies from which he ordered medical supplies for Gatwick Park Hospital.

But the men knew the goods would never be delivered and Clifford-Field paid Rapley a backhander of more than £100,000.

The scam, which was carried out over a five-year period, was only uncovered by an eagle-eyed assistant who spotted irregularities in the purchase orders.

Rapley, and Clifford-Field were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud by a jury at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday last week after a four-week trial.

Judge Michael Addison told them: "I make it absolutely plain that a prison sentence is inevitable."

Ian Acheson, prosecuting, had told the court Rapley had joined the hospital in 1995 as the manager of the supplies office.

Mr Acheson said: "Part of his duty was to ensure that the hospital's stocks and medical supplies were kept up to the right level. He raised purchase orders for a quantity of goods from four companies run by Clifford-Field, a friend of his.

"A total of £230,000-plus worth of orders were raised from these four companies and that sum was paid to Mr Clifford-Field's company by BUPA because Mr Rapley had ordered these goods.

"None of these goods existed so Mr Rapley was arranging for Mr Clifford-Field's companies to be paid 230,000-odd pounds for nothing. "In return Mr Clifford-Field passed more than £100,000 back to Mr Rapley."

Mr Acheson said that in 2000 Kathleen Gurton was working as Rapley's assistant when she noticed obsolete supplies were regularly ordered by the hospital from a company she did not recognise.

He said: "She raised this with Mr Rapley who said it was another firm he used that sometimes offered good deals and he left it at that."

Miss Gurton discovered further irregularities and contacted her superiors. A few days later Rapley was interviewed by senior staff at BUPA.

Rapley was shown three purchase orders regarding companies which were thought to be under suspicion - Images MS, Medcare Enterprises and Direct Line Supplies.

He admitted using these companies - two of which were based in Teignmouth where Clifford-Field lived at the time - as they offered good deals on supplies.

The court heard Rapley resigned after recent purchases from these companies could not be traced.

Computer records showed the initial "GR" as the person who received the goods from Clifford-Field's companies but it was not Rapley's job to sign for goods.

Mr Acheson said no other BUPA company dealt with the four companies run by Clifford-Field at that time. The court also heard bank records were checked which showed movement of invoices back and forwards between Devon and Surrey.

Mr Acheson said: "Over these years £234,000 plus VAT made its way from Surrey to Devon and at least £115,000 made its way back, a figure of about half."

He said both men were interviewed about the police investigation and while Rapley made no comment, Clifford-Field said he had delivered the medical supplies.

The case was adjourned for sentence until March. Judge Crocker told them: "The fact that I have put sentence back until March and granted you bail carries with it no indication what the sentence will be."

By forum user, Bruce_Bennett