Former NHS chief executive convicted of fraud avoids jail term

A former chief executive who defrauded an NHS Trust in Devon out of thousands of pounds has received a 16 month suspended jail term.

Paula Vasco-Knight, 53, had admitted carrying out the the £11,000 fraud while she was working for the South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. This came as a result of an investigation by NHS Protect.

She paid her husband, Stephen Vasco-Knight, money to produce a document named Transform, meant to improve leadership qualities in chief executives.

But the 200-page document was never made and Mrs Vasco-Knight failed to declare any interest in her 46-year-old husband's company.

The duo were both handed jail terms - Mrs Vasco-Knight for 16 months, Mr Vasco-Knight for 10 months - suspended for two years, by Mr Recorder Tait.

The couple had initially denied the charge, but changed their pleas to guilty during the trial in January.

Mrs Vasco-Knight, who rose from the ranks of nurse to chief executive during her 30-year NHS career, broke down in tears before entering her guilty plea.

She admitted abusing her position as CEO at the trust by authorising the #11,072 payment to her husband for the document.

Her husband also pleaded guilty to fraud by submitting a false invoice to the trust for the Transform document in November 2013

During the trial, jurors heard Mrs Vasco-Knight also held a position as the national lead for equalities, which she commanded a £200,000 budget for.

In 2012, she used the fund to buy a MacBook Pro computer with QuarkXPress graphic design software - later admitting she could not use it.

Prosecutors claim Mr Vasco-Knight used the computer, particularly the graphic design software, for his own business Thinking Caps.

But when her husband submitted an invoice for £11,072 from the bursary funds for producing 'Transform', which was later chased up by Mrs Vasco-Knight alarm bells began to ring.