Former dentist Fariba Shameli has been found guilty of defrauding the National Health Service (NHS) out of more than £92,500 by manipulating more than 1,000 claims for dental work.
Shameli, 54, previously owned and operated Findon Dental Care in Worthing. She was found guilty of three counts of fraud by abuse of position following a trial that concluded on 6 July at Hove Crown Court.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Shameli submitted fraudulent claims to the NHS between March 2013 and June 2018.
NHS fraud claims
She was also found guilty in an earlier trial of one count of fraud by abuse of position. Across both trials, the offences covered 1,037 fraudulent claims with a combined value of £92,511.
Shameli lied to the NHS by claiming for dental work that was never carried out and by dishonestly inflating her claims for payment.
The fraud was driven by a desire to avoid ‘clawback’ procedures, under which the health service recovers overpayments if dentists fail to deliver at least 96% of their contracted Units of Dental Activity (UDA).
Trial and evidence
The investigation was led by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority.
The CPS presented evidence at court including a detailed analysis of Shameli’s patient records, records from private dental laboratories and witness statements from 13 patients and a trainee dentist.
It emerged that Shameli charged for work that was not done at all, and made NHS claims for treatment patients had already paid for privately. She also claimed for work carried out by trainee dentists, which does not count towards a dentist’s UDA, and altered treatment dates on her records to inflate her claims for a particular financial year.
Convicted in absence
Shameli did not attend the trial and was convicted in her absence. A warrant has been secured for her arrest.
She was previously convicted in her absence in October 2025 of one count of fraud by abuse of position, found not guilty of a second count, and the jury failed to reach a verdict on three further counts. A retrial was ordered on the remaining counts, which concluded on 6 July.
CPS response
Ben Reid, specialist prosecutor at the CPS, said: ‘Fariba Shameli systematically defrauded the NHS over a sustained period. For every pound of this fraud, a pound was taken from our NHS which could have gone towards patient care.
‘As an NHS dentist, Shameli was entrusted to safeguard the financial interests of this taxpayer-funded service and behave in an honest way. Sadly, her behaviour fell far short of this standard, and prosecutors were able to paint a compelling picture of evidence showing that this was a deliberate and calculated fraud, carried out for personal gain.
‘The CPS will not hesitate to work closely with investigators such as the NHS Counter Fraud Authority to bring those who commit fraud to justice.’
Confiscation proceedings are now under way under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover the profits of the criminal activity.
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