A former primary care trust (PCT) finance head has been jailed for five years and four months after defrauding the NHS out of £2.2 million.
Trevor Cosson, 38, was head of financial accounting at East Sussex Downs & Weald PCT and Hastings & Rother PCT.
Cosson used the money to buy eleven properties in East Sussex and London.
When Sussex & Surrey commissioning support unit (CSU) took over financial matters from the PCT an audit uncovered suspicious payments of thousands of pounds.
A former primary care trust (PCT) finance head has been jailed for five years and four months after defrauding the NHS out of £2.2 million.
Trevor Cosson, 38, was head of financial accounting at East Sussex Downs & Weald PCT and Hastings & Rother PCT.
Cosson used the money to buy eleven properties in East Sussex and London.
When Sussex & Surrey commissioning support unit (CSU) took over financial matters from the PCT an audit uncovered suspicious payments of thousands of pounds.
Between 2008 and 2011 Cosson authorised £810,000 worth of standing order payments which were set up in the name of regular suppliers but credited his accounts.
And he approved £1.4 million worth of payments to himself through internal payments systems in 2011 and 2012.
Sussex & Surrey CSU referred the issue to NHS Protect for investigation.
Sue Frith, head of the national investigation service at NHS Protect said: “Mr Cosson’s dishonesty resulted in the theft of over £2m from two local health bodies. He abused his position of trust so that he could live a lifestyle that he could not afford. Stealing from the NHS is not a victimless crime as this money could have been used to provide healthcare locally.
“The sentence reflects the seriousness of Cosson’s crime and will act as a deterrent to others.”
