Civil servant who juggled up to five government jobs guilty of fraud

A civil servant has been found guilty of nine counts of fraud after using remote working and sick notes to juggle up to five full-time government jobs at the same time.

Kashim Chowdhury, 56, lied about his employment status to secure a string of overlapping roles across government departments and public bodies, Southwark Crown Court heard previously.

Between February 2020 and September 2023, Chowdhury, from Whitechapel, east London, earned almost £350,000 from eight employers, the court heard.

This includes more than £280,000 in gross pay from employers for months when he had more than one full-time role, jurors were told.

On Monday, jurors found Chowdhury guilty of nine counts of fraud after deliberating for around seven hours.

He has been remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced on 29 January.

Judge Mark Weekes said Chowdhury faces an immediate custodial sentence, with the prosecution suggesting a starting point of five years and a range between three and six years.

The judge told Southwark Crown Court: "It seems to me that in consequence of events over the last few weeks, unfortunately this is a defendant whose world from his point of view must appear to be collapsing around him."

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it will seek to reclaim his fraudulent earnings through a proceeds of crime hearing.

Prosecutors said Chowdhury "exploited" the work-from-home culture which started during the Covid-19 pandemic to hide his multiple jobs and took sick leave from some employers to manage the workload.

In one incident, described by prosecutor Lucy Organ as "laughable", Chowdhury allegedly wore white make-up during a video call with his boss to give the appearance of being ill, the court heard.

It became noticeable as Chowdhury had applied the make-up to his face, but not his neck. As the meeting went on, the make-up on his forehead began to separate.

Chowdhury previously told the court work was his "lifeline".

He told the court that around May and June 2022, his mother's health "deteriorated".

He said: "That overwhelmed me at the time."

During the trial opening, the court heard he started working for Tower Hamlets Council in February 2020, before taking a second job with Defra in April 2021.

The two roles overlapped for more than one year, the court heard.

For four months in 2022, he also held a third position with East London NHS Trust.

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After leaving the council, prosecutors said Chowdhury continued working for Defra while gaining further jobs with the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency and the Home Office.

In May 2023, he was receiving pay for five full-time jobs, the court heard.

Ms Organ said his workload eventually became "too much to cope with" and his performance declined.

The jury was told he then took sick leave from some roles while continuing to work in his other positions.

The offending came to light after a data check by the National Fraud Initiative revealed Chowdhury was employed by two government departments at the same time.

He was arrested at his home in July of that year and made no comment when interviewed under caution.

Sarah Melo, specialist prosecutor at the CPS serious economic organised crime and international directorate (SEOCID), said of Chowdhury: "He repeatedly misrepresented the true nature of his employment status while continuing to receive full-time salaries from other public bodies.

"This was sustained and deliberate dishonesty. He knew he could not legitimately hold multiple full-time positions at the same time, but continued to conceal what he was doing."

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