A FRAUDSTER conned his way into a job as a security guard at NHS hospitals after falsely claiming he had a Security Industry Authority licence.

Mohammed Bashir knew he would not be able to get a licence due to convictions for violence and drugs offences.

So he used his father's licence to talk his way into jobs in the security industry.

Bashir, aged 28, denied two offences of fraud by making false representation and possessing his father's licence for use in fraud, but was found guilty following a trial.

At Bolton Magistrates' Court he was sentenced to 28 weeks in prison, suspended for two years.

Magistrate Gillian Knowles told him: "You enacted this fraud over a sustained period of time and, having worked in a hospital, the number of victims are without number. So it is a high culpability."

Sofia Ryrie, prosecuting on behalf of the Security Industries Authority, told how, using his father's non-front line security licence, Bashir applied for a job with Lingwood Security Management Ltd on December 12, 2018.

"The defendant was successful in his application and worked in various NHS wards in the North West of England between December 13, 2018 and February 27, 2019," said Miss Ryrie.

He earned a total of £3,813.60.

Three months later, on May 17, he lied again, claiming that he had a valid licence to apply for a job with Radius Security.

He was unsuccessful as he did not appear to possess the correct form of licence, but the court heard that, on some occasions, he still worked for the firm.

"The defendant used his father's non-front line licence to gain employment during this time as, due to previous convictions he would not have been eligible for an SIA licence himself," said Miss Ryrie.

Bahsir, of Elmwood Road, Bolton, has three previous convictions for 11 offences — seven for drugs offences, two for driving offences, one for violence and one for dishonesty and has spent time in prison.

Miss Ryrie added: "The defendant sought to use fraud to bypass the regulatory regime put in place for the protection of the public.

"Door supervisors have to be fit and proper persons to hold an SIA licence. He would not have been suitable for an SIA licence at the time he was working therefore he posed an increased risk of harm to members of the public."

The court heard Bashir's claims that he did not set out to be dishonest, but he admitted that he should have checked whether he was eligible to hold a licence.

His most recent conviction dates back nine years and Sam Kaufman, defending, told the court that Bashir intends to appeal his conviction.

Mr Kaufman stressed that the fraud came to light when Bashir, who is married with a child on the way, applied for a licence and mentioned that he had already been working in the security industry, so prompting an investigation.

"If he was a sophisticated criminal who was seeking to pull the wool over everyone's eyes the last thing he would do was submit documents showing that he had previously been working without a licence," said Mr Kaufman.

He added that, since his conviction became known, Bashir has been suspended from a job at a Covid testing centre.

As part of his suspended sentence, magistrates ordered Bashir to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

He must also pay £1,000 in prosecution costs plus £128 towards the cost of funding victim services.