A GP surgery manager who stole more than half a million pounds from her NHS practice and spent the money on luxury purchases has avoided an immediate prison term after a judge warned that jails are “full to bursting,” a court heard.
Helena Paiva, 33, admitted defrauding her employers at Albion Street Practice in Southwark, London, of £517,260.29 between January 23, 2023, and July 1, 2025.
Over the course of the two-year fraud, Paiva used the stolen NHS funds to buy a Tesla sports car, a flatscreen television and designer clothing. She also spent £10,000 on Amazon alone, purchasing items including vapes and car accessories.
Southwark Crown Court heard on Thursday that some of the goods bought with the money were still arriving at Paiva’s home when police carried out a search.
Paiva, of Boxley, Kent, was given a suspended sentence rather than being sent straight to jail, after Judge Christopher Hehir cited the severe pressure on the prison estate and said UK prisons were “full to bursting.”
Prosecutor Hannah Williams told the court that Paiva manipulated the practice’s bank statements and bookkeeping records to hide payments into her own account, making them appear like slightly misspelled versions of routine business costs.
Ms Williams said the alterations “were not immediately obvious,” giving the example of one entry changed to “HRMC.” However, she noted that “both the sort code and account number had not been edited.”
The court was told that Paiva offered to repay the stolen money and asked the practice not to report the matter to police.
Helena Paiva admitted to plundering £517,260.29 from her NHS employers at the Albion Street Practice in Southwark, London
But when police searched Paiva’s address they found boxes upon boxes of designer clothing from luxury brands Hermes and Christian Dior, as well as from London’s department store Selfridges.
Officers also found jewellery and luxury handbags, one of which arrived when police were at the address, which she claimed she was going to sell to pay the money back to the practice.
Around £7,000 has been recouped from the stolen amount, with a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing to take place on February 10 next year.
Paiva wept as she entered the dock at Southwark Crown Court wearing a black £349 Holland Cooper branded coat, avoiding the eyes of her colleagues in the public gallery.
Former colleagues at Albion Street Practice took the witness box where they described feeling ‘stabbed in the back’ by the ‘conniving, scheming liar’ who ‘never did the job correctly’.
GP Louisa Dove said: ‘Helena, you stole from and lied to each one of us… You are a liar and a thief.
‘From the moment you were employed we had faith in you. We tried our hardest to nurture you but all the time you were lying to us and stealing from us. You lied to, and deceived all of us.’
She said of seeing Paiva’s wish list: ‘Bicester Village, Uber Eats, Selfridges… Can you believe your hard earned money would be spent on vain, pointless purchases?
Paiva, of Boxley, Kent, was spared jail and handed a suspended sentence after Judge Christopher Hehir said that the UK prisons are ‘full to bursting’
‘We are not a faceless conglomerate. We are eight individuals with families who rely on the practice for our income.’
And she added: ‘You stole from the NHS, you deprived the practice of additional service, as some of the stolen money was to pay for doctors working overtime.
‘You placed our NHS GP practice at risk of closure.
‘I suspect you will never understand what you have done, but hopefully you will have a lot of time to reflect.’
Care coordinator Lewis Szmidt said Paiva boasted about the purchases, which were often delivered to the practice, saying: ‘This is what good hard work would get.’
‘Every positive memory of this woman had been poisoned knowing every move had been carefully planned to lie and cheat to those who were her closest,’ Mr Szmidt added.
Defending, Andrew Rose said messages between Paiva and her husband show ‘deep shame and regret, remorse’, adding she is caring for two children aged 12 and four.
Passing sentencing, Judge Hehir told Paiva: ‘You were employed as a practice manager and within a few months of working there you siphoned off money for yourself.
‘The emotional impact of who you let down has been very substantial indeed… Everybody at the practice feels utterly betrayed by you and what you did.
‘It is undoubtedly an unattractive feature of this offending, only £7,000 of which has been repaid today, you have lavish living indeed, including a large quantity of designer clothing and even a Tesla motor vehicle.
‘It is clear you suffered some trauma in your life but I don’t ultimately accept such issues as you do have either explain or excuse your behaviour.
‘You are a capable and intelligent woman who has been something of a high achiever in the past… What drove you to do what you did was greed.’
But he spared the fraudster jail on the account of her two young children, and sentenced her to three years imprisonment, suspended for three years.
Judge Hehir also ordered 20 days of rehabilitation activities and 160 hours of unpaid community work, which was reduced as she currently works as a delivery driver.
He told Paiva, who sobbed as sentence was passed: ‘You have come within a hair’s breadth of going down to the cells.’
Paiva admitted one count of fraud by abuse of position.
She has no previous convictions.
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