Sisters face charges over hospital scam

A pair of sisters who ripped off two Sydney hospitals for nearly $700,000 by pretending to investigate a cancer diagnosis aid have been referred for criminal prosecution.

The NSW corruption watchdog has found that Sandra and Michelle Lazarus forged the signatures of doctors and filed invoices for goods and services that never existed or were never delivered.

The alleged fraud took place between 2007 and 2009, after Sandra Lazarus falsely represented herself to the hospitals as a PhD student of the University of Sydney.

She said she wished to undertake clinical trials of an Israeli-designed device, Medex, to investigate its usefulness in the early detection of different types of cancer.

The fraud took place at two Sydney hospitals - the Royal North Shore Hospital at St Leonards and the Royal Hospital for Women at Randwick.

Sandra Lazarus corruptly claimed payments of over $680,000, the ICAC - Independent Commission Against Corruption said in its findings published on Wednesday.

Michelle Lazarus corruptly concurred with the submission of false invoices on behalf of a company in which both sisters had an undisclosed interest, ICAC said.

ICAC said in a statement on Wednesday that the Director of Public Prosecutions should consider prosecuting Sandra Lazarus for obtaining money by false or misleading statements.

It said the DPP should also consider prosecuting Michelle Lazarus for giving false or misleading evidence to ICAC.

ICAC also made seven recommendations to improve the flaws in the systems of hospitals to stop further frauds.

It said the NSW Department of Health should screen non-employees before giving them access to hospitals, their level of access should be assessed and they should not be given ID cards until they have passed the screening requirements.

ICAC also recommended that NSW Health develop procedures for ensuring that electronic approvals are used for all procurement transactions except in emergencies.

The commission's findings are the outcome of a public inquiry in February and March this year.

(Published by Herald Sun - August 31, 2011)