Woman who lied to get nursing job guilty of fraud

A woman accused of falsifying her documents to get a job as a senior nurse in a unit for sick and premature babies has been found guilty of fraud.

 

Tanya Nasir, 45, was accused of nine counts of fraud and false representation, which she denied.

A jury at Cardiff Crown Court found her guilty of all nine counts of fraud as well as fraud by false representation.

Nasir told the world she was a highly qualified neonatal nurse, an Army combat medic who had been shot at twice in Afghanistan, with a raft of clinical and academic qualifications.

The truth was that she was a liar and a fantasist who tricked bosses, colleagues, and even close friends.

She has been given bail and will be sentenced on September 24.

The 45-year-old mother of two from Rickmansworth, Herts, became the ward manager at the neonatal unit at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend in September 2019.

Four months after she started work, the unit’s matron became suspicious after a check on Nasir’s nursing registration code showed she had qualified four years later than she stated on her application form.

The hospital began an investigation, and it was discovered that Nasir had spun a web of lies about her life and her nursing experience. She was suspended, but she resigned two days before a hospital disciplinary hearing.

Nasir faked her reference for the neonatal manager’s post using an NHS email account belonging to Maureen Westphal, a nurse she had worked with at the Hillingdon Hospital in London.

 

When Nasir’s home in Brecon was searched by police after her arrest in April 2021, fake certificates and diplomas were discovered.
Nasir told the interview panel at the Princess of Wales Hospital that she was a member of the Army Reserve.

She had briefly been an adult volunteer with the Army Cadet Force, but she failed a fitness test to join the Army.

The court heard from the Army, who said she has never served with them or the Army Reserve. It was also confirmed that she had never been deployed overseas as an adult volunteer.

 

She said she had also served in Haiti, Syria, Kosovo, Kenya, and Iraq.
She also claimed to have worked with charities including Oxfam and the Red Cross in warzones. The charities said there were no records of her working with them.

The Crown Prosecution Service’s Gayle Ramsay said: “Tanya Nasir deliberately lied about her qualifications and employment history so that she could gain employment in a senior and sensitive nursing role where she would be entrusted with the responsibility of caring for newborn babies.”
She also showed a “total disregard for the welfare and safety of vulnerable patients, putting their lives at significant risk,”  the statement said.