A man posing as a nurse and using false credentials for more than four years has been sentenced to jail for endangering patients. Ashton Guramatunhu, 46, assumed the identity of a legitimate nurse in late 2014 when he registered with an agency in Warrington, Cheshire.
Guramatunhu worked at six different nursing homes in the northeast of England between January 1, 2015, and April 5, 2019, earning approximately £172,920.94 through deceit. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison on December 2 at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation.
The fraudulent scheme was uncovered in January 2019 when the actual nurse was contacted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council regarding an incident at a care home where Guramatunhu had never worked. Subsequently, Cleveland Police initiated an investigation, which was later taken over by Cheshire Police in 2020 upon discovering his association with the Warrington agency.
Detective Constable Naomi Sargent, leading the case, emphasized that Guramatunhu’s criminal history made him unsuitable for employment in the care sector. She expressed concern over the risk he posed to patients for personal gain and commended the collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies in bringing him to justice.