Care director jailed over £151k council Covid fraud

Caroline Hunt was handed a prison sentence at Chelmsford Crown Court (pictured at a preliminary hearing last year)

A care company director has been jailed for defrauding her local council's Covid-19 response fund by submitting false invoices.

Caroline Hunt, 54, who ran Hunt Healthcare Group, submitted £151,000 in fraudulent invoices to Essex County Council between May and October 2020.

She pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud by false representation, having previously denied the charges.

Hunt was sentenced to three years and two months at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Hunt, of St Cleres Hall Lane, in St Osyth, Clacton-on-Sea, was also banned from taking up a company directorship role for seven years.

Judge William Clegg said the defendant took advantage of the pandemic and the public purse.

The county council, which prosecuted the case, said Hunt submitted evidence for payments from its Covid-19 response fund, purporting to "represent genuine documentation" when "in fact it was false" intending to "make a gain, namely unknown" for her company.

'Good employee'

Defence barrister Colin Aylott KC said Hunt "accepts full responsibility for what happened."

He said the recent death of her husband had contributed to the “fallout of her life".

“She may have once thought she had everything but now she has nothing," he added.

In mitigation, the judge noted that Hunt had no prior convictions and was "a good employee and a good mother to your children.”

Hunt Healthcare Group provided services for older people.

The court heard concerns had been initially raised by a council officer, who noted there were discrepancies in the formatting and detail on the submitted invoices.

Hunt had originally denied the charges, blaming others in the firm.

But Alison Lambert, for the county council, said: “She acted alone and received the money”.

The court heard that Hunt had already paid back the money but was ordered to pay an additional fine of £91,288 to Essex County Council.

The council's Conservative cabinet member for adult social care, John Spence, said after the sentencing: "Caroline Hunt took advantage of funds which were set up to support care providers in Essex with the increased financial pressures they faced during the Covid-19 crisis.

“I hope this prosecution shows Essex County Council takes defrauding the public purse extremely seriously."