A civil servant held five full-time government jobs at the same time in a fraud that earned him nearly £350,000, a court has heard.
Kashim Chowdhury, 56, from Whitechapel, east London, used remote working arrangements to hold overlapping roles across various Government departments between February 2020 and September 2023.
During this period, he earned nearly £350,000 from eight employers, including more than £280,000 during months when he held multiple full-time positions.
Chowdhury was found guilty of nine counts of fraud and was remanded in custody today (Sunday 9 November).
Judge Mark Weekes said at Southwark Crown Court: “It seems to me that in consequence of events over the last few weeks, unfortunately, this is a defendant whose world from his point of view must appear to be collapsing around him.”
Chowdhury began working for Tower Hamlets Council in February 2020 and took a second job with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in April 2021.
He later held additional positions with the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency, the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency, and the Home Office.
Prosecutors said he exploited remote working introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the court heard he told employers that he needed to work from home to care for his unwell mother.
Sarah Melo, specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was sustained and deliberate dishonesty. He knew he could not legitimately hold multiple full-time positions at the same time but continued to conceal what he was doing.”
A Defra spokesperson said: “Kashim Chowdhury abused the trust placed in him as a public servant and defrauded taxpayers out of almost £285,000.”
The Crown Prosecution Service will seek to recover his fraudulent earnings through a proceeds of crime hearing.
Chowdhury is the latest fraudster to be convicted at Southwark Crown Court, where Russell Brand was jailed for 10 years and six months today for rape and sexual assaults against four women. Police are also appealing for help to find men on Crimestoppers’ most-wanted list with London links, including a murder suspect.
