On another occasion, Doctors for Wheels staff allowed a patient to take parts of their medical forms home to fill in themselves.
“People who were known to the DVLA as having health conditions were being signed off as perfectly fit,” said Rhys Harries, who led the investigation for Swansea Trading Standards, who were the prosecutors in this case.
Harries, who took part in the sting operation, said he’d deliberately booked his Doctors on Wheels test under a colleague’s name to see if they’d check his identity – something that must be done to ensure people aren’t cheating the tests.
“The staff member didn’t take any form of ID,” he said.
“She asked me a few questions, and within minutes I was out of there with [the paperwork] signed in my colleague’s name.”
Harries said the staff in the vans often claimed to be nurses, but investigators found only one was registered to work as a nurse in the UK.
Two doctors who worked for the company – and had their signatures printed on stamps – were also investigated by the General Medical Council.
Dr Adrian Mosescu was struck off by the GMC for his involvement – while Dr Ronald James had his registration suspended for 12 months. Criminal charges against both doctors were dropped.
Prosecutors told the court that the value of the fraud was £681,699.
“We will never know the true extent of the public safety aspect and issues caused,” Lee Reynolds, prosecuting, told the court.