Zimbabwean identity thief jailed in UK

A Zimbabwean man who stole another person's identity to pose as a registered nurse in the United Kingdom has been jailed for more than three years.

Ashton Guramatunhu, 46, registered with a nursing agency in Warrington in 2014 using the identity of a genuine nurse, Liverpool Crown Court heard. He later secured employment at six nursing homes across north-east England despite having no nursing qualifications.

Police said Guramatunhu, who lived at Bobeche Place in Kingswinford, near Dudley, risked the health and safety of vulnerable patients for personal gain. He pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and was sentenced on Tuesday to 40 months in prison.

Detective Constable Naomi Sargent, who led the investigation, said Guramatunhu's deception could have had grave consequences.

"He put the lives of innocent patients at risk, purely for his own financial gain," she said. "Guramatunhu should never have been working as a nurse, and I have no doubt that he would have continued his offending had he not been arrested."

The fraud was uncovered in 2019 when the real nurse whose identity had been stolen alerted the Nursing and Midwifery Council after receiving notice for a "fitness to practise" hearing that had no connection to him. That prompted investigations that later led to Guramatunhu's arrest and prosecution.

Police said the case highlighted the importance of robust identity verification processes, particularly within the healthcare sector, where vulnerable lives may be placed at risk.