6 months jail for stealing Dh1.25 million

A healthcare coordinator in a hotel was found guilty of stealing Dh1.25 million over eight years and was sentenced to six months in jail.
 
The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance also ordered DM, 55, Filipina, to be deported after serving her jail term.
 
According to the records, the accused was first appointed as a nurse and in November 2007, was promoted to the position of healthcare coordinator. She was in charge of carrying out medical checks-ups, issuing health cards and renewals. To help ease her task, her employer used to give her Dh10,000 per week as petty cash.
 
The accountant of the hotel suspected two transactions forwarded by DM in March for two employees who had already resigned in November.
 
Checking all transactions processed by DM since she was assigned to do this work in November 2007, it was found out that she had forged a total of 9,195 medical fee payment receipts.
 
“The department suspected two transactions that the accused submitted for two employees who had resigned in November 2014. DM also submitted health card renewals for those ex-staff,” AY, 59, Egyptian accountant, told investigators.
 
“Checking transactions that she had forwarded to the department, it was found out that she submitted a number of payment receipts that were issued by a Dubai Municipality clinic for the same employee and for the same type of transaction,” he said.
 
The hotel management launched an administrative investigation and the accused admitted to increasing the amount in the payment receipts from Dh110 to Dh210. She also admitted to changing pictures of employees so that she could use one receipt more than once.
 
Auditing all transactions that she had processed since November 2007 until March 12, it was found that she stole a total of Dh1,258,620 by forging 9,195 receipts for medical check-ups and health card renewals.
 
The accountant told investors that the accused was handed over Dh10,000 per week to pay for medical check-ups, issuing health cards and renewal fees.
 
The accused admitted to embezzling an amount that  she estimated at Dh500,000. She also admitted that she forged receipts to cover up for stealing the amounts that were in her custody.

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