Ashton Guramatunhu pocketed nearly £150,000 before fleeing the country when his true identity was revealed
Ashton Guramatunhu, of Middlepark Road in Dudley, West Midlands, aged 46(Image: Cheshire Police)
A fraudster spent years posing as a nurse before fleeing the country when his true identity was eventually revealed. Ashton Guramatunhu pocketed nearly £150,000 in wages while assuming the identity of a real healthcare professional who knew nothing of his deception.
While he previously qualified to work in such a role, he was barred from doing so as a result of his previous convictions. This resulted in him taking drastic measures in order to obtain employment in the sector and ultimately led him to a prison cell.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, that Guramatunhu first took on the identity of registered nurse Christmas Musaruwa upon gaining a job with Warrington-based care agency Ivers in January 2015. This led to him working in residential homes operated by Danshell Group, now Cygnet Health Care, across the country over the coming four years.
Alex Langhorn, prosecuting, described how there were “no concerns about the work undertaken” by Guramatunhu, of Middlepark Road in Dudley, West Midlands, “for much of the time that he worked under the assumed identity”. The 46-year-old completed around 80 shifts at one, Chesterholme in Hexham, Northumberland, which would typically have only one qualified nurse on duty at any time.
Guramatunhu was praised for his “excellent nursing skills” and being “great with patients” at this home, with his tasks including administering medication and injections to residents, while he was also required to attend mental health tribunals on occasions. His service at other sites, including Oaklands in Hexham and Thornfield Grange in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, meanwhile “appeared to have been competent” with “no obvious issues with the work undertaken” by the defendant.
However, his fraudulent scheme ultimately came to light due to a complaint relating to the “use of restraint” while working at Hope House in Hartlepool in January 2019. This led to a referral to the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Disclosure and Barring Service, at which stage the real Mr Musaruwa was notified of the proceedings which he was supposedly facing.
Guramatunhu meanwhile left the country in April 2019 before returning via Heathrow Airport in February 2020, at which stage he was stopped due to having told Border Force agents that he had “lost his UK travel documents”. Having claimed that he had been in Zambia “to undergo a traditional treatment”, he was then arrested after it was established that he was wanted by Cheshire Police.
His actions led to Cygnet paying Ivers a total of £172,920.94 for his services, while he received wages amounting to £145,052 from his employer during this time. Guramatunhu, who declared no income to HMRC throughout this same period, has a total of 14 previous convictions for 34 offences, including perverting the course of justice and driving matters in 2006.
Subsequent appearances then followed for assaulting police and several instances of driving while disqualified, which have led to him serving prison sentences in the past. Steven Levine, defending, told the court: “I do no want to be theatrical, but I will use the word tragedy.
“He has been out of trouble since this matter six years ago. He was competent, with no concerns in relation to his work and excellent communication skills and nursing skills. He was great with patients. It all comes to an end now.
“He has been remorseful. He has not been drinking for five years. He does not take drugs. Generally, his mental health and physical health have been stable. He feels shameful as to what happened.
“There was something in the background. He has taken the full fall. He wishes to explain that he never saw a lot of this money. There were other parties involved. The monies that came into his account, he says that he never fully appreciated the sums involved. He wants me to convey to you that he feels, on some level, that he was the fall guy.”
Guramatunhu admitted one count of fraud by false representation. He sat with his head bowed in the dock during the hearing before being jailed for 40 months.
Sentencing, Judge Louise Brandon said: “You persisted in the deception. You did not, at any stage, tell the four relevant care homes at which you were working your true identity, maintaining throughout that you were Christmas Musaruwa.
“In your role, you were often the only one in that capacity on duty. Of course, you were not and should not have been there. I note that there were no concerns raised about your work. Your employers spoke highly of you.
“However, in 2019, a complaint was raised about you. That complaint led on, the 5th of April 2019, to the real Mr Musaruwa being notified of the complaint. He had to let his manager know of the allegation. It became apparent to him that his identity had been fraudulently used. He had to take steps to exonerate himself.
“As the complaint came to light, you left the country. You frankly accepted that you were not a registered nurse, because you were unable to register after completing your training due to your previous convictions. You should not have been and had no right to work in the capacity you were in.
“[Mr Musaruwa] describes feelings of anger and concern upon discovering that his identity had been used in this way. He has had to invest considerable time and money in establishing his innocence.
“There was significant planning, involving using the details of a registered nurse. This was fraudulent activity which was conducted over a sustained period. The real impact has been on the true registered nurse in this case.
“You were a qualified nurse, albeit not a registered one. There has been no further offending since this indictment period concluded. I accept that you are genuinely remorseful, not withstanding your submissions about the involvement of others, which do you no favours.
“You are married with a supportive wife and live in a settled address. It is clear that you have always been a hard working man, although your convictions have made it hard for you to find employment. You have resolved the issues that you had previously with alcohol. I take into account that these offences were committed about six years ago now.”
Detective Constable Naomi Sargent, who led Cheshire Police’s investigation into Guramatunhu, said following the sentencing: “Guramatunhu should never have been working as a nurse. While he had been to university, his previous convictions meant that he was not suitable to work in the care sector.
“He put the lives of innocent patients at risk, purely for his own financial gain, and I have no doubt that he would have continued his offending had he not been arrested. The sentence handed to him by the court reflects the severity of his actions, and I hope that it acts as a warning to others.
“I would like to take this as an opportunity to thank all of the officers who have been involved in the investigation, including colleagues at Cleveland, Northumbria and Durham Police, along with staff from our economic crime unit who all played key roles in helping to bring Guramatunhu to justice.”