UK Civil Servant Found Guilty Of Fraud After Secretly Holding Five Government Jobs
UK Civil Servant Found Guilty Of Fraud After Secretly Holding Five Government Jobs
Chowdhury, 56, from east London, held five overlapping government positions in the spring of 2023, despite being contracted to work 183 hours a week.
ABritish civil servant, Kashim Chowdhury, has been found guilty of nine counts of fraud after secretly holding multiple full-time government jobs and earning more than £284,000 in taxpayers’ money.
Chowdhury, 56, from east London, held five overlapping government positions in the spring of 2023, despite being contracted to work 183 hours a week.
A jury unanimously found him guilty of eight counts of fraud by false representation and one count of fraud by failing to disclose information after seven hours of deliberation.
The court heard that between 2020 and 2023, Chowdhury held eight full-time public sector positions at different times, earning about £350,000 in total.
Prosecutors said he provided false information about his employment status on job application forms and failed to inform government departments that he was already employed elsewhere.
Among the organisations he worked for were the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency and the Home Office.
The prosecution said he secured permission to work remotely by telling employers he was caring for his mother, who had dementia and was later diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Chowdhury told the court that he took on multiple jobs because he feared losing his livelihood following previous experiences of insecure employment.
He also said stress and trauma had affected his judgment when applying for the positions.
However, prosecutor Lucy Organ accused him of deliberate dishonesty, telling the jury that he had lied during his testimony.
The court also heard evidence from several managers who raised concerns about his work performance.
One of his former managers at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Dan McCartney, said he had to constantly direct Chowdhury on his duties.
Another manager at the UK Health Security Agency, Aleesha Adams, told the court that she became suspicious after a video meeting in May 2023, during which she alleged that Chowdhury wore white make-up to appear ill.
Adams said she later discovered that he had joined the meeting using an email address belonging to another government department.
Prosecutors also argued that Chowdhury used sick leave from some of his employers while continuing to work for others.
He left the civil service in September 2023 and was eventually identified in 2024 through the government’s National Fraud Initiative, which examines public sector payroll records to detect irregularities.
