A 63-year-old British woman has escaped prison after admitting to stealing £80,000 from the National Health Service (NHS) and sending it to her Nigerian online boyfriend. Hyacinth Blair, a former administrator at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, carried out the fraud between June 2021 and January 2023, siphoning funds from the trust’s accounts to a man she believed she was in a romantic relationship with.
The recipient of the stolen money, identified as Michael Okafor, allegedly pressured Blair into sending him large sums, leaving her feeling trapped in the relationship. Despite the scale of the fraud, Judge Lynn Tayton handed her a two-year prison term suspended for two years, meaning she will not serve immediate jail time. Blair pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position, with the court noting the theft not only caused financial loss but also inflicted deep distress on her colleagues.
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Judge Tayton condemned Blair’s actions, highlighting that the breach of trust forced a review of the NHS’s financial controls and eroded public confidence in its systems. Initially, Blair told probation officers she didn’t understand why she stole the money, but later claimed she acted under constant pressure from her online lover, torn between guilt and emotional manipulation.
The court also heard that Blair suffers from depression, is unemployed, and survives on universal credit. Her previously clean criminal record and positive character references contributed to the decision to suspend her sentence. However, the judge issued a stern warning that any future offence would lead to immediate imprisonment.
Blair’s sentence includes 250 hours of unpaid community service, 15 days of rehabilitation activities, and six months of mental health treatment. The shocking case has reignited conversations about online romance scams and the vulnerability of lonely individuals, with many questioning how a trusted NHS employee could embezzle such a large sum without detection for over 18 months.
