GP practice manager who stole £500,000 from colleagues and blew it on designer goods that were still being delivered when police searched her house avoids jail due to overflowing prisons

A GP practice manager who conned her NHS surgery out of a small fortune and blew it on designer goods has avoided jail because prisons are too full, a court heard. Helena Paiva, 33, admitted to plundering £517,260.29 from her NHS employers at the Albion Street Practice in Southwark, London, between January 23, 2023, and July 1, 2025.During the two-year scam, she bought a Tesla sports car, a flatscreen TV, designer clothes with the stolen money – and spent £10,000 on Amazon alone buying vapes and car accessories. Some of the items were still being delivered when police searched her house, Southwark Court heard on Thursday. Paiva, of Boxley, Kent, was spared jail and handed a suspended sentence after Judge Christopher Hehir said that the UK prisons are 'full to bursting'. Prosecutor Hannah Williams said Paiva used the practice's statements and bookkeeping records to conceal payments into her own account by disguising them as misspelled versions of regular expenses. She told the court: 'The edits were not immediately obvious,' including changing one entry to 'HRMC', but added: 'Both the sort code and account number had not been edited.'The defendant offered an opportunity to pay back the money and asked the practice not to report her to the police.' Helena Paiva admitted to plundering £517,260.29 from her NHS employers at the Albion Street Practice in Southwark, LondonBut when police searched Paiva's address they found boxes upon boxes of designer clothing from luxury brands Hermes and Christian Dior, as well as from London's department store Selfridges.Officers also found jewellery and luxury handbags, one of which arrived when police were at the address, which she claimed she was going to sell to pay the money back to the practice.Around £7,000 has been recouped from the stolen amount, with a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing to take place on February 10 next year. Paiva wept as she entered the dock at Southwark Crown Court wearing a black £349 Holland Cooper branded coat, avoiding the eyes of her colleagues in the public gallery.Former colleagues at Albion Street Practice took the witness box where they described feeling 'stabbed in the back' by the 'conniving, scheming liar' who 'never did the job correctly'.GP Louisa Dove said: 'Helena, you stole from and lied to each one of us… You are a liar and a thief.'From the moment you were employed we had faith in you. We tried our hardest to nurture you but all the time you were lying to us and stealing from us. You lied to, and deceived all of us.'She said of seeing Paiva's wish list: 'Bicester Village, Uber Eats, Selfridges… Can you believe your hard earned money would be spent on vain, pointless purchases? Paiva, of Boxley, Kent, was spared jail and handed a suspended sentence after Judge Christopher Hehir said that the UK prisons are 'full to bursting''We are not a faceless conglomerate. We are eight individuals with families who rely on the practice for our income.'And she added: 'You stole from the NHS, you deprived the practice of additional service, as some of the stolen money was to pay for doctors working overtime.'You placed our NHS GP practice at risk of closure.'I suspect you will never understand what you have done, but hopefully you will have a lot of time to reflect.'Care coordinator Lewis Szmidt said Paiva boasted about the purchases, which were often delivered to the practice, saying: 'This is what good hard work would get.''Every positive memory of this woman had been poisoned knowing every move had been carefully planned to lie and cheat to those who were her closest,' Mr Szmidt added.Defending, Andrew Rose said messages between Paiva and her husband show 'deep shame and regret, remorse', adding she is caring for two children aged 12 and four.Passing sentencing, Judge Hehir told Paiva: 'You were employed as a practice manager and within a few months of working there you siphoned off money for yourself.'The emotional impact of who you let down has been very substantial indeed… Everybody at the practice feels utterly betrayed by you and what you did.'It is undoubtedly an unattractive feature of this offending, only £7,000 of which has been repaid today, you have lavish living indeed, including a large quantity of designer clothing and even a Tesla motor vehicle.'It is clear you suffered some trauma in your life but I don't ultimately accept such issues as you do have either explain or excuse your behaviour.'You are a capable and intelligent woman who has been something of a high achiever in the past… What drove you to do what you did was greed.'But he spared the fraudster jail on the account of her two young children, and sentenced her to three years imprisonment, suspended for three years.Judge Hehir also ordered 20 days of rehabilitation activities and 160 hours of unpaid community work, which was reduced as she currently works as a delivery driver.He told Paiva, who sobbed as sentence was passed: 'You have come within a hair's breadth of going down to the cells.'Paiva admitted one count of fraud by abuse of position. She has no previous convictions.Do you have a story? Email isabella.machin@dailymail.co.uk