OO is charged with false NHS claims

Specimen charges related to the case totalled &\#163;18,000. Mr Bateson, who works for Seaham Optical, formerly known as Nelson's, is accused of 14 charges of false accounting, 10 of which allege that he submitted claims for replacement spectacles he had not supplied. A number of the other charges refer to alleged false claims involving tinted lenses. Mr Bateson is also alleged to have falsified documents to obtain payment for two pairs of spectacles when he had supplied one pair. The court heard that the offences are alleged to have taken place at his premises between May 1994 and April 1996. Alison Clark, prosecuting, said the charges were all specimen. Peterlee Magistrates adjourned the hearing and bailed Mr Bateson until August 27. Last month Mr Bateson's case was reported to the Crown Prosecution Service (optician, News, July 3).