A team responsible for an investigation which saw a fraudulent doctor brought to justice have been commended by the chief constable.

Zholia Alemi had practiced as a doctor in the UK for 23 years, having moved here from New Zealand in 1995.

Concerns regarding Alemi were brought to the police's attention in 2016 following suspicions around her conduct towards an elderly widow.

Despite very limited evidence to work from, detective constable Louise Carter and detective constable Ruth Pickering investigated and subsequently arrested Alemi on suspicion of theft.

They uncovered evidence that Alemi had attempted to forge the will of the woman, leaving £1.3 million to herself and her family.

A subsequent trial in 2018 saw Alemi convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.

Following the sentencing, chief reporter for the News and Star, Phil Coleman, began looking into Alemi's background.

His enquiries with Auckland University revealed that Alemi had never received her qualifications and, as such, was presenting herself fraudulently as a Consultant Psychiatrist.

Mr Coleman raised his findings with the police, sparking a new investigation under the banner of Operation Rupture.

The investigation was vast and international, including taking statements from witnesses in New Zealand and Germany as well as throughout the UK.

Officers were assisted by colleagues from partner agencies in building their case.

Gerry Metcalfe and Jamie Haywood of the NHS Counter Fraud Authority assisted detectives by obtaining witness statements and gathered evidence from NHS organisations and employment agencies going back many years, as well as undertaking financial investigation enquires and preparing schedules of financial information for the trial.   

Within a year of beginning the investigation, officers had enough evidence to go to the Crown Prosecution Service for fresh charges against Alemi.

The case was presented expertly by Chris Stables and Charlotte Atherton at the CPS and Alemi was sentenced to a further seven years in prison.

The prosecution case was expertly presented by Chris Stables and Charlotte Atherton, counsel from Exchange Chambers, Liverpool, during a six-week trial at Manchester Crown Court.  At the conclusion of the trial, Alemi was convicted of all counts by the jury and was sentenced to a further seven years in prison. 

The team were nominated by Chief Superintendent Lisa Hogan. She said: "The drive and determination shown by everyone involved in this case was remarkable and achieved outstanding results.

"This was a complex investigation - overseen throughout with great expertise and professionalism by Detective Superintendent Matt Scott - which required enquiries to be undertaken internationally in order to bring charges to court.

"All of those commended by the Chief Constable should be proud of their efforts in successfully bringing to justice an offender who had operated fraudulently yet secretly for decades."