Social worker sentenced for wage claims fraud

A social worker who fraudulently worked at three different councils at the same time and made multiple wage claims has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Beatrice Eduah, 42, of Jaric Lane, Brampton, in Cambridgeshire, was an agency worker employed by Suffolk County Council's adult social care team.

But she also worked at two other local authorities, including Peterborough City Council and an unnamed third local authority, without any of them knowing of her additional employment, and submitted timesheets to .

At Cambridge Crown Court, Judge Philip Grey sentenced Eduah, of Jaric Lane, to six months in prison, suspended for a year, and ordered her to pay £2,500 to Suffolk County Council.

Concerns were first raised by a recruitment agency in November 2023, who said Eduah had submitted timesheets to the county council and another authority for the same hours.

A criminal investigation headed by Suffolk County Council's Counter Fraud Service found she had lied to her line manager about the need for unpaid time off on five separate occasions.

Reasons she gave included that she was abroad due to a family member's death when in fact she was in the UK working elsewhere.

She pleaded guilty to one offence of fraud by abuse of position, relating to the period June-November 2023.

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