Doctor and husband who sold PPE stolen from NHS on eBay during pandemic jailed
A sheriff said the PPE was sold out of sheer greed at "a time when the world was in a heightened state of fear and anxiety at the start of the COVID pandemic. The NHS was facing an unprecedented crisis".
Friday 18 July 2025 14:49, UK
A doctor and her husband who made almost £8,000 out of "sheer greed" selling PPE stolen from the NHS during the early months of the pandemic have been jailed for 10 months each.
Attiya and Omer Sheikh admitted resetting a quantity of personal protective equipment (PPE) which was the property of NHS Scotland between 30 May and 7 October 2020 when they appeared before Paisley Sheriff Court in May.
It had been "dishonestly appropriated" by persons unknown to the prosecutor, court documents state.
The couple were jailed when they returned to the dock for sentencing on Friday.
Sheriff Sukhwinder Gill said the pair both knew they were in possession of PPE that had been stolen from the NHS.
She described the time period as "significant", explaining: "This was a time when the world was in a heightened state of fear and anxiety at the start of the COVID pandemic. The NHS was facing an unprecedented crisis.
"There was an extreme shortage of PPE. As a doctor you clearly knew that PPE was essential for your colleagues and by extension their families.
"You chose to sell this PPE, which you knew was stolen for financial gain. It is hard to imagine a more egregious breach of trust, not only in respect of your colleagues but of society."
She added: "You did this together out of sheer greed."
Prosecutors said the couple made £7,827 selling the PPE, which included medical gloves and masks, on a number of eBay accounts.
Police searched the couple's home in Thornliebank, East Renfrewshire, in October 2020 and found 121 boxes of PPE in the attic.
At the time of the offence, Attiya Sheikh, 46, worked as a doctor at University Hospital Hairmyres in East Kilbride, but she has not worked for NHS Lanarkshire since 2020.
John Scullion KC, representing the doctor, said the mother-of-three is now unemployed, having lost jobs as a locum doctor and in a role certifying drivers of HGV vehicles as a result of the court proceedings.
He told the court she "accepts full responsibility" for her actions, adding: "She has dedicated her adult life to the study of medicine, working extremely hard to become a doctor and perhaps even harder completing relevant conversion courses allowing her to practice in the UK in order that she could make a positive contribution to society.
"Instead, because of her actions in 2020, she has now lived for almost five years with the shame of having betrayed the values which have otherwise guided her life. It's fair to say that she bitterly regrets her actions."
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Advocate Kevin Henry, representing 48-year-old Omer Sheikh, said he also accepts full responsibility for his actions.
He said: "He recognises that it was a big, big mistake on his part and understands the impact this offence will have had on frontline NHS workers at a time when PPE was at a premium."
Omer Sheikh works front of house in his family restaurant, the court heard.
Faye Cook, procurator fiscal for north Strathclyde, said: "This was a particularly egregious crime.
"The public put their trust in medical practitioners. As a hospital doctor, Attiya Sheikh betrayed that trust at a time of acute need when patients and NHS staff relied heavily on the availability of PPE.
"For her and her husband to benefit financially from this criminal conduct will shock many people.
"But now they have both been brought to account for their crimes and must face the consequences of their actions."
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A General Medical Council (GMC) spokesperson said: "Dr Attiya Sheikh is currently registered with a licence to practise but with interim conditions on her registration pending the conclusion of a GMC investigation."
An interim orders tribunal of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service first imposed the interim restrictions on 20 December 2024.