A NURSE has been jailed after she faked her qualifications.
Susan Kelly claimed she completed her degree at Sunderland University in 1996 and had gained a teaching qualification two years earlier at Sunderland College.
An investigation later revealed that while she was a qualified nurse, she had dropped out of the degree course and never sat the teaching qualification, which was not available at the college.
diploma fraud
Newcastle Crown Court heard the fake certificates were riddled with mistakes, including spelling errors and stated she had gained a pass, when the degree document should have stated a mark.
When issues were raised about her attendance and performance, she was asked to produce her certificates.
Her husband Mark, who is known by his name Darren, forged the papers using a scanner.
Judge Richard Lowden heard she had genuinely worked at hospitals in Sunderland and Darlington.
He gave Kelly, 44, of South End, Kielder, Northumberland, an eight-month sentence after she admitted fraud.
Mark Kelly, 41, who had worked as a caretaker at a Sunderland hospital, admitted forging the papers, but believed his wife did hold the qualifications. He was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, with 180 hours of unpaid work.
Source : sunderlandecho
