A nurse who secured senior NHS roles using fake qualifications and fabricated work experience has been ordered to pay just £278 despite fraudulently earning more than £51,000.Tania Nasser, 47, from Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2024 after falsely representing herself as a highly experienced senior nurse to obtain positions she was not qualified to fill, according to the BBC.Cardiff Crown Court heard Nasser had fraudulently received £51,397.58 while working in senior NHS Band 7 roles, despite only being qualified at Band 5 level.However, the court ruled that she would only repay £278.13 as that was the total amount currently available in her bank account.
The hearing was told that Nasser now lives on benefits and has almost no assets.Repayment will be split between Hillingdon NHS Trust and Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.Nasser previously worked at Hillingdon Hospital in west London, and also spent several months managing the neonatal unit for premature babies at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend before concerns arose about her background.During previous criminal proceedings, prosecutors said Nasser had built her career on a series of false claims and forged documents.
She falsely claimed to have qualified as a nurse in 2010, despite actually qualifying four years later. The court also heard she forged certificates and lied about working in intensive care at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for five years.Among the most serious allegations were allegations that she served as an Army Reserve medic on deployments to Afghanistan, Kosovo, Syria and Kenya, which investigators later found to be untrue.Using fabricated credentials, Nasser was able to obtain senior positions in the NHS that required much higher salaries and responsibilities.The court ordered her to repay the money by August 6, 2026. Failure to do so could result in an additional month in prison.Although only a small amount has been recovered at this time, investigators said efforts to recover the money will continue if Nasser obtains money or assets in the future.Nasser was also struck off the nursing register after her conviction.
