Nurse manager stole from hospital by overstating overtime

By Eimear Dodd

A nurse manager who stole approximately €56,000 from the Beacon Hospital by using a systems glitch to overstate his overtime has been handed a three-year suspended sentence.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Rodel Padilla (51) had been working at the hospital for 14 years and immediately resigned when his offending was revealed.

Padilla of Village Gate, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow pleaded guilty to deception on dates between July 2021 and August 2023.  He has no previous convictions.

He told gardai he was sending money home to the Philippines due to family difficulties and that he was under severe financial pressure at the time.

Having heard the facts of the case on Wedneday, Judge Martin Nolan adjourned the case overnight to consider the sentence.

On Thursday, Judge Nolan handed Padilla a three-year, fully suspended sentence.

The judge said the mitigation, in this case, was the guilty plea, the defendant’s cooperation and admissions, his lack of previous convictions, his good work history and that he is unlikely to reoffend again.

Judge Nolan said, “Does he deserve to go to prison for his offending? I am of the opinion he does not.”

Detective Garda Michael Murphy previously told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Padilla’s role as nurse manager included responsibility for inputting time and attendance for staff on his assigned ward. A glitch in the system meant he was able to manipulate his own hours on the system and claim for overtime he hadn’t worked.

An internal investigation was carried out in 2023 after a system flag triggered. Padilla made full admissions and resigned.

A complaint was made to gardai in November 2023. Padilla was arrested by arrangement in February 2024 and made full admissions when interviewed by gardai. He told gardai that he recognised he’d have to face the consequences of his actions, and that he found himself in financial trouble as he was sending money home to the Philippines due to family difficulties.

The court heard that Padilla received around €56,000 in payments by overstating overtime he didn’t undertake. He told gardai he thought the figure was approximately €20,000 but took full responsibility when made aware it was higher.

Det Gda Murphy agreed with Olan Callanan, BL, defending, that Padilla accepted his wrongdoing and had lost his career due to his actions.

Mr Callanan noted the payments were made through Padilla’s salary and subject to tax, which was “not the most efficient manner” of theft. He suggested to Det Gda Murphy that his client might only have gained half of €56,000, with the rest claimed by the State, to which the witness replied it was possible.

The garda also agreed that Padilla outlined family difficulties to the gardai, including the death of three relatives during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Det Gda Murphy accepted that Padilla had taken out bank loans totalling €27,000 and a €15,000 loan from a friend to send money to family in the Philippines.

He accepted the defence counsel’s suggestion that Padilla was relieved when his wrongdoing came to light and that Padilla’s expression of remorse was genuine.

Mr Callanan said his client had put himself in “irrecoverable” financial difficulty, lost his career and caused irreparable damage to his life through his own actions.

He said his client was not in a financial position to repay the money taken from the Beacon Hospital.

He asked the court to consider his client’s early admissions and guilty pleas and to consider granting him the benefit of the Probation Act.