CUMBRIA POLICE/Supplied
Zholia Alemi pretended to have a degree from Auckland University and posed as a doctor in the UK for 19 years, a court has heard.
A New Zealand woman accused of posing as a psychiatrist in the United Kingdom has told a court she bought “certificates” from a souvenir shop as presents for her family, the News & Star reported.
Zholia Alemi is facing a jury trial at the Manchester Crown Court on 20 charges, including forgery and fraud.
Prosecutors allege Alemi falsely claimed to have obtained a medical degree from the University of Auckland when she registered to work in the UK in 1995. However, she had actually dropped out of medical school after failing the first year of her five-year course.
Alemi worked for the National Health Service (NHS) as a psychiatrist for 19 years and was paid about $2 million. She has previously been described as the “most accomplished fraudster” by the prosecutor, the Guardian reported.
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The Cumberland News & Star reported prosecutor Christopher Stables accusing Alemi under cross-examination of telling “lie upon lie”.
He also accused her of adding the words “bachelor of surgery” and “bachelor of medicine” to a forged degree certificate. Alemi denied the allegations.
Stables also questioned her about photocopies of the degree, found in a suitcase in her home, the paper reported.
Alemi denied being responsible and said the documents were found by people who were “not supervised”.
In another article, the News & Star reports the prosecution alleging the documents were found by a constable searching under Alemi’s stairs.
When Stables questioned the document, Alemi said: “This document that you are looking at in your hand must be a fake.”
The News & Star reported Stables asked more questions about blank stationery purporting to be from “Auckland City” and the “University of Auckland”.
She said both had come from her brother who had worked at the University of Auckland as a tutor.
When asked what the certificates found in her house were for, Alemi said she bought them from a souvenir shop to give to family, The News & Star reported.
“They are not certificates. They are cards I bought for my sister for fun.”
Earlier Stables asked her about her police interview in which she is said to have refused to answer questions such as when she moved to New Zealand.
“At the time,” Alemi said, “I was very anxious and confused. I was very paranoid. They raided my house.”
The trial continues.
