Jail for 'Patients' Champion'

Paul Mainwaring

A patients’ champion has been jailed for swindling taxpayers out of £107,000.

Paul Mainwaring of Turton Road, Tottington, was sentenced to two years custody after admitting deceiving authorities out of £39,114 in benefits and witholding £68,704 tax over five years.

The 54-year-old worked with the Patients’ Council, and carried out consultancy work for Healthy Futures, NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale and Bury NHS Trust.

The court heard he billed NHS Trusts for work using a fake VAT number.

As the sentence was read out Mainwaring gave no reaction, though some of his relatives in the public gallery burst into tears.

Recorder Medland told Mainwaring: “This is a grave crime. You took the money over a five-year period and these were public funds at a time that could have been supplied to people who needed them.”

A proceeds of crime hearing will take place on 20 July.