Doctor faked ring theft to claim £7000
AJUNIOR doctor who admitted to jewellers she was “trying to make a wee claim” worth thousands for rings that had not actually been stolen is facing disciplinary action.
Dr Kristen Laing is appearing before a General Medical Council tribunal after attempting to claim £7000 for the theft of wedding and engagement rings.
Dr Laing was working at Levenside Medical Practice in Dumbarton at the time and told insurers and police that her handbag had been taken.
However she had already made a claim, reporting that she had lost the rings.
In the later claim the Glasgow University graduate told insurers she had had the lost rings re-made by a jeweller and they had then been stolen.
However, she was rumbled after the insurers contacted the jeweller, who was a friend of Dr Laing and said they had no record of the theft.
They showed the firm a message they had received from her where she wrote: “Hi how’s tricks? “Long story short, not lost my rings but trying to make a wee claim on the home insurance. Didn’t realise they were going to contact you guys direct otherwise I would have given you the heads up.”
She also provided a false valuation of the rings and sent a fake email that she claimed to be from the jeweller informing her that her rings had been remade.
She later called her insurance company saying she wanted to withdraw the claim. She said she was a doctor and did not want to be involved with any “dodgy goings on”.
Dr Laing’s insurance company referred the incident to the Police which happened in August 2016. She was arrested and convicted of attempted fraud at Glasgow Sheriff Court on July 10 2018 after pleading guilty to the charges and was fined £1,200.
On the first day of a four-day medical tribunal yesterday, the doctor admitted she had been convicted and fined.
The hearing ruled yesterday that her practice is “impaired” and will now decide on an appropriate sanction.
The case was described as a, “a somewhat sophisticated fraud, including a fake valuation, a false email and an attempt to involve the jeweller by claiming that they had remade the lost rings.”
The doctor graduated from University of Glasgow in 2014. the