A former union branch secretary has been jailed after defrauding Unison and the NHS out of a total of £80,000.
Tanya Tucker was found guilty of seven counts of fraud following a trial at Durham Crown Court, and appeared for sentence on Thursday. The court heard the 57-year-old used her status as a local branch secretary for Unison to falsely claim funds disguised as union expenses in order to fund her lifestyle.
Ian West, prosecuting, said Tucker denied fraud, but a jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict following a trial in March. He said the total value of the fraud was just over £80,000 and was committed over a long period of time. It took "deliberate planning" and the "side-lining of branch officials", he said.
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The court heard the offences were committed on dates between June 2013 and September 2017, when Tucker was a Unison branch secretary. Offences were committed when Tucker was an employee of the North of England Commissioning Support Unit (NECS) of the NHS, and as an official of Unison’s Northern Regional Health Commissioning Branch. The court was told she "forged signatures" and falsely entered details on computer software.
In a victim statement, a union member said he felt "a sense of betrayal" at Tucker's actions and that she broke the trust of those she worked with. She was suspended from her job in November 2018 and dismissed following disciplinary proceedings in October 2019, the court heard.
Nicholas Askins, defending, said: "She has no previous convictions at all and at other times has made a positive contribution to the community in the form of volunteer work or in her work as a Unison representative. Alongside the offences, there's evidence of her doing real good for others in her Unison role."
Sentencing Tucker, of Walker Drive, Bishop Auckland, Judge James Adkin, the Recorder of Durham, said: "You used your status as a local Unison branch secretary to falsely claim funds disguised as union expenses. It was brazen, fraudulent offending for more money to fund your lifestyle. Some reputational damage was done to Unison." Tucker was jailed for 28 months.
Following her sentencing, fraud investigator, Detective Constable Ali Blackett, of Durham Constabulary’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “Fraud is a despicable crime that can have far-reaching consequences for victims especially for vital organisation such as the NHS. Tucker not only abused her position of trust in both organisations but went to great lengths to hide her deceit so it is satisfying to see justice served.”
