A Rotorua GP caught making a false travel insurance claim has accepted a disciplinary charge brought against him.
Dr Peter Jacobs Adams, 37, was convicted in the Rotorua District Court in February last year of filing a false travel insurance claim of $4500.
The claim was made in relation to items Dr Adams said he lost during a trip to South America in December 2011 and January 2012.
His travel insurance company, which Dr Adams purchased cover from in December 2011, became suspicious after noticing the claim was similar to a previous one made in 2009 for stolen luggage.
A private investigator who looked into the case found 16 of the items Dr Adams said had been stolen were identical to those included in the 2009 claim.
The insurance company refused to pay him the claim, and when the matter was heard in court, Dr Adams pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud.
The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal yesterday heard a disciplinary charge brought against Dr Adams by the Professional Conduct Committee in relation to his criminal conviction.
Lawyer for the committee, Ellie Wilson, said the disciplinary charge had been laid as Dr Adams' conviction reflected adversely on his fitness to practice as a medical practitioner.
Included in the items he tried to claim for were two rings which were never stolen from him on his 2011/2012 trip, Ms Wilson said. A claim had been filed for one of the rings in 2009 when it was stolen, however it was never remade and then stolen as Dr Adams' claimed, she said.
Information about the second ring he said had been taken was also false, with the investigation showing the ring had been a gift to Dr Adams from his "host mother".
She was still in possession of the ring, Ms Wilson said.
Dr Adams' lawyer, Tim Grimwood, said his client accepted the charge.
The tribunal then accepted the charge had been established and was hearing submissions on penalty.