A single document led to a £1m scam, 20 years of lies and eventually brought about a woman's downfall

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

At a quick glance, the everyday reader would think this is a normal degree certificate. Yet this is the document that a bogus psychiatrist created to forge her 20-year career.

Zholia Alemi falsified the certificate, along with a letter of verification riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, before submitting it to the General Medical Council (GMC) to register as a qualified doctor.

She was somehow accepted and over the last 20 years worked in various positions all over the country, including Manchester. Alemi is estimated to have fraudulently obtained over £1 million through the NHS. READ MORE: Woman who posed as doctor for over twenty YEARS jailed as judge blasts 'abject failure of scrutiny' Following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court, Alemi was found guilty of 20 offences including two offences of forgery; two offences of using a false instrument; three offences of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception; and 13 offences of fraud by false representation.

On Tuesday (February 28) she was jailed for seven years as a judge blasted the GMC for an ‘abject failure of scrutiny’. In the document, which has been shared with the Manchester Evening News, it shows a photocopy of the fake certificate.