VAR boss found guilty of fraud

Reseller sentenced after selling used kit as new

The former head of a reseller has been sentenced to 180 hours of community service and fined £25,000, after providing an NHS Trust with computer kit that failed to meet the requested standard.

Gordon Rae Wallis, former managing director of Networking Solutions (UK), was found guilty of defrauding the Calderdale Healthcare NHS Trust, now the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, of £69,137.

His firm, Networking Solutions, which is no longer trading, sold the Trust used computer equipment and charged it for new kit. Wallis was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court.

Jim Gee, chief executive of the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service, said: "We believe the sentence is justified. It shows society will not tolerate those who defraud the NHS."

IT services consultant John Griffith said: "Resellers will be expected to provide details on the margins they receive and the cost of the services they provide.

"The administrative burden associated with these types of account should not be underestimated."

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