A GHOST workforce which conned the NHS out of more than £100,000 over two-and-a-half years is facing the new year behind bars.

NHS manager Janis Courtney's family, from Avery Hill Road, Eltham, banked massive cheques as she added their names to the payroll at health centres in Stockwell and Kennington.

Courtney, 46, her sister Lesley Mahoney, 48, her nephew Matthew James, 26, her daughter Clare Goodson, 26, and her lover Michael Hughes, 51, all denied conspiracy to defraud Lambeth Health Care NHS Trust, Community Health South London NHS Trust and South London Maudsley NHS Trust between April 1997 and March this year.

But the judge told all five they face a prison sentence for their "clever" and "calculated" fraud.

They enjoyed holidays and part-time work while the illicit cash flowed in to their bank accounts.

The NHS believed they were working evening shifts as registered nurses in Courtney's scam.

The fraud came to light after Courtney changed jobs last year. All five defendants were arrested last December and charged with the plot in March.

December 4, 2001 12:49