Disgraced doctor jailed for scamming elderly loses bid to be reinstated on medical register

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter

A disgraced doctor who was jailed for scamming elderly investors out of £1.4million has lost his bid to be reinstated on the medical register.

The General Medical Council (GMC) said Dr Muhammad Mirza “had not yet fundamentally taken ownership” of his actions nor sufficiently shown how he would avoid being dishonest in the future when refusing his request to rejoin the register at a tribunal in December.

The medical watchdog also found Dr Mirza, who qualified in 1995, had been “inconsistent” in written and oral evidence.

In 2017, Dr Mirza was sentenced to 15 months in prison on two counts of creating a false or misleading impression and one count of a company officer publishing a false statement over his involvement in Symbiosis Healthcare Plc, which the GMC said was based in Westminster.

The company, which was established in November 2008, provided healthcare solutions and management services, according to the tribunal’s report.

It said Dr Mirza, who had a controlling stake in Symbiosis Healthcare, was “fully aware” the £1.4million in shares raised from 297 mostly elderly, retired investors were “worthless” and that the money was not going to build the business but to those who raised it.

It said Dr Mirza had been “instrumental” in drafting brochures and market announcements that gave a misleading impression of the company.

He was struck off the medical record a year later and barred from being a director of a company for eight years.

Dr Mirza said he was now a “changed man” and accepted responsibility for his actions.

He told the tribunal “misplaced ambitions”, the prospect of financial gain and bad advice from brokers led to his actions and that he had since apologised to victims and repaid them in full.

He said he has also undertaken professional training and vowed not to take part in any future financial dealings in his capacity as a clinician if he is restored to the medical register.

But the watchdog’s legal counsel, Andrew Molloy, questioned Dr Mirza’s defence.

He accused Dr Mirza of minimising the impact of his actions by claiming he had only signed a few forms put in front of him and didn’t fully understand his obligations.

He also accused the doctor of providing conflicting accounts regarding when he understood his actions were dishonest.

The report read: “Mr Molloy said that Dr Mirza’s reflections lacked exploration of how his actions impacted colleagues and the wider profession.

“He submitted that Dr Mirza appeared to be giving blanket statements about areas that he is required to address to show insight rather than demonstrating a genuine understanding of the severity of his dishonesty and how it may have impacted the profession and the public.”

The tribunal also hit back at Dr Mirza’s defence saying it did not take strong business acumen to know he was endorsing statements that were not true, including one claiming the business had four clinics when it actually only had one.

In its ruling, the tribunal wrote: “Dr Mirza’s insight was not yet fully developed, specifically in regard to the reasons for him acting dishonestly and his personal responsibility for the dishonesty.

“He has not therefore sufficiently demonstrated how he would avoid repeating his dishonesty in the future.

“Accordingly, it determined that Dr Mirza’s name should not be restored to the Medical Register.”

Dr Mirza must wait 12 months before being eligible to reapply to join the medical register.

(Picture: Pexels /karolina grabowska)