The former manager of a south east London GP surgery stole more than £150,000 of NHS money, then sent menacing anonymous letters to a businesswoman he came to loathe on LinkedIn.
Christian Jennings, 63, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison on Thursday (May 7) for fraud and stalking.
Jennings was practice manager at Camberwell Green Surgery when between 2013 and 2019 he raised false invoices and diverted genuine payments to his own bank account.
When he left the surgery in 2019, the new practice manager noticed suspicious payments and instructed a financial audit which revealed Jennings had stolen £151,841, prosecutor Michaela Onuchukwu said.
Jennings, from Stock in Essex, was arrested in 2023 and told officers he resorted to fraud because he had maxed out his credit cards.
Whilst on bail, Jennings went on to offend again when he developed a bizarre obsession with an accountant from Portsmouth.
Between January and August 2025, he sent six anonymous letters to Jeri Williams, who has 92,000 followers on LinkedIn and describes herself as an “accountant to the rich and famous”.
Ms Onuchukwu said the handwritten letters contained detailed information about Ms Williams’ business and family.
In one letter he called her a “total tramp”, while in another he included a picture of a dartboard and wrote “you are marked, darling”.
In a later letter he included a photo of her puppy and wrote “be extra careful when out with your little pup, anything could happen in that situation”.
Police were informed and identified Jennings as a suspect, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
Ms Williams did not recognise his name, but when she checked her LinkedIn profile she saw messages and comments from him dating back to 2020.
In interview, Jennings told officers that her story of “glamour and glory” had “struck a nerve”.
He said he began sending the letters as he found her posts “condescending”.
In a statement, Ms Williams detailed how the “taunting” letters had impacted her personally and financially.
She said she lived in constant fear and worried for the safety of her family.
“I no longer go on dog walks alone and have to be accompanied by my husband as I’m terrified,” she said.
The menacing letters led her to make the expensive decision to relocate her business.
“Jennings’ actions have caused me to fundamentally change how I operate my business and personal life,” she said.
Jennings pleaded guilty to both fraud by abuse of position and stalking.
Edward Fenner, defending, said his client was extremely remorseful for both offences.
He has already made a £32,000 repayment to the surgery and intends to release equity from property to repay the rest.
Mr Fenner said: “He was paying a large amount of maintenance for two children, he was commuting a long distance for work and had maxed out his credit cards.
“With that difficulty in mind, he turned to fraud and it became easy to do so.”
Judge Philip Shorrock noted that Jennings had previous convictions for similar offending which dated back 20 years.
The judge said Jennings had been in a considerable position of trust as he managed the practice’s finances.
Regarding the stalking offence, Judge Shorrock said it must have been “very distressing” for Ms Williams.
Judge Shorrock sentenced Jennings to two years and four months in prison.
He also ordered Jennings to repay the remaining £120,000 in the next 12 months.
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