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, 55, lied about his employment status to get 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.

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.

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.

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.

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