Dentist’s £1m theft charges
A HIGH-flying dentist has been charged with stealing £1million in one of the biggest alleged frauds in the history of the NHS, it emerged yesterday.
Dr Joyce Trail, 48, has been suspended from her Birmingham practice over allegations that she submitted more than 5,000 fake patient invoices.
She has been charged with one count of obtaining a false money transfer by deception and three counts of fraud and will appear before magistrates later this month.
The dentist, who also runs a medical spa offering Botox and “smile makeovers”, denies any wrongdoing and intends to plead not guilty to the charges.
Dr Trail, who lives in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, declined to comment further.
The charges are believed to relate to 5,000 bogus payment invoices totalling an estimated £1million, which Dr Trail allegedly submitted between 2006 and 2009. She has run her practice for 12 years.
A spokeswoman for the Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust confirmed that Dr Trail has been suspended.