Civil servant faked illness with make-up to juggle five jobs, court hears
Kashim Chowdhury is accused of fraudulently juggling multiple government jobs while working from home.
Key points
- Kashim Chowdhury is accused of earning £350,000 from five full-time public sector jobs between 2020 and 2023.
- He allegedly wore make-up on a video call to fake illness, but it peeled off.
- Chowdhury denies nine counts of fraud and denies acting dishonestly.
A civil servant is on trial at Southwark Crown Court accused of earning almost £350,000 by holding five full-time public sector jobs at the same time. Kashim Chowdhury, 55, from east London, allegedly held the roles between February 2020 and September 2023.
He is accused of nine counts of fraud, which he denies. He also denies acting dishonestly or intending to make a dishonest gain.
Make-up on video call
The jury heard that in 2023 his manager at the UK Health Security Agency, Aleesha Adams, arranged a video call to discuss his sick leave. Ms Adams claims Chowdhury wore make-up to appear ill, and that it began peeling off his forehead during the meeting, revealing his real skin.
At the time of the call, he was allegedly being paid for five full-time jobs. Prosecutor Lucy Organ told the court that the incident showed how far Chowdhury was willing to go in his deceit.
There could be no doubt about it, the defendant had applied make-up to his face for this Teams meeting to try and pretend to his line manager that he was unwell.
— Lucy Organ, for the prosecution
How the fraud was uncovered
Prosecutors say Chowdhury got the jobs by making false representations about his employment status when applying. Over three years he held overlapping roles at Tower Hamlets Council, the Home Office, Defra, the UK Health Security Agency and the Department of Health and Social Care.
The court heard he told employers he needed to work from home to care for his unwell mother, and that his workload became too much to cope with. He was signed off from some jobs with mixed anxiety and a depressive disorder, but did not give his sick note to all employers. The alleged fraud came to light after the National Fraud Initiative alerted Defra.
