Former health employee Garry Gorham sentenced to home detention over Auckland DHB bribes

A former senior manager at Auckland DHB has been sentenced to six months' home detention for receiving $258,541 in bribes from medical equipment and software companies.

Garry Gorham was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty in March to two secret commission charges of accepting gifts from Alpine Medical Hardware and Device Technologies New Zealand, worth a combined $223,112.

He also pleaded guilty to a representative charge of corruptly disclosing official information and receiving approximately $35,428 from other companies.

Gorham was a senior manager of Auckland District Health Board's central sterile supply department between 2007 and 2016 and received the bribes in exchange for preferential treatment during contract decisions.

"Mr Gorham was trusted by his colleagues, employer and the New Zealand public to make the best decision for the ADHB and the people the hospitals serve. Instead, he used his position and influence for personal gain," Serious Fraud Office director Karen Chang said in a statement.

Gorham was sentenced to 6 months' home detention after having already spent seven months in a United Kingdom prison and 18 months on electronically monitored bail.

One company, Alpine Medical Hardware, paid Gorham $210,482 between 2008 and 2016.

In that time, the Serious Fraud Office said Alpine's sales to Auckland DHB increased substantially from approximately $52,000 per year to $400,000 per year, with Gorham authorising 217 of Alpine's 390 invoices.

"On one occasion, Mr Gorham was directly involved in placing a $5612.73 order from a Pakistani company on behalf of Alpine, which later invoiced the ADHB $39,218.10 for the same order," the Serious Fraud Office said in a statement.

"This was approved by Mr Gorham, and Alpine paid Mr Gorham $22,369.00 to his personal bank account."

Device Technologies New Zealand paid Gorham $12,630 after the company was awarded a $1.7 million contract to refit his department, after he co-authored a report recommending the company for the job.