A dentist has been jailed today for defrauding the NHS out of more than £92,500 by manipulating more than 1,000 claims for dental work.

Fariba Shameli, 52, previously operated Findon Dental Care in Worthing. The prosecution's case was that she submitted 1,037 false claims to the NHS between March 2013 and June 2018.

The Crown’s evidence included a detailed analysis of Shameli's patient records, records from private dental laboratories and witness statements from 13 patients and a trainee dentist.

There were two trials.

The first trial took place in October 2025. Fariba Shameli did not attend court and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) successfully applied to proceed in her absence. Of the five counts on the indictment she was convicted of one count of making 158 claims for treatment that had not been carried out. She was acquitted of making 135 claims in the wrong charge band. The jury was unable to reach verdicts on the remaining the counts. The CPS was confident in its case and  asked for a re-trial.

The second trial took place in July 2026. Fariba Shameli again failed to attend court and the Crown applied to proceed in her absence. There were three counts on the indictment. These  alleged that she had made 532 claims for a trainee dentist, 161 claims for work that had in fact already been privately paid for and 186 claims in the wrong date. She was convicted on all three counts after trial.

Today, Fariba Shameli was sentenced in her absence to a total of three years in prison.

The Crown will now pursue confiscation and extradition.

The investigation was led by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority.

Ben Reid, specialist prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service said:

"Fariba Shameli systematically defrauded the NHS over a sustained period.  For every pound of this fraud, a pound was taken from our NHS which could have gone towards patient care.

“As an NHS dentist, Shameli was entrusted to safeguard the financial interests of this taxpayer funded service and behave in an honest way.  Sadly, her behaviour fell far short of this standard and prosecutors were able to paint a compelling picture of evidence showing that this was a deliberate and calculated fraud, carried out for personal gain.

“The CPS will not hesitate to work closely with investigators such as the NHS Counter Fraud Authority to bring those who commit fraud to justice.”