Former ADHB employee sentenced over corruption involving supply of medical equipment and software
A former senior health employee has been sentenced to six months’ home detention for receiving $258,541 in personal payments from medical equipment and software supply companies, in exchange for helping with obtaining work orders and contracts for the Auckland District Health Board (ADHB).
The former ADHB senior manager, Garry Gorham, appeared in the Auckland District Court today. In sentencing, Judge Eddie Paul took into account the time Mr Gorham spent in custody in a United Kingdom prison and the 18 months he spent on restrictive electronic bail conditions.
Mr Gorham pleaded guilty in March 2026, to three secret commission charges of acceptance of gifts by an agent in relation to receiving $223,112 from two medical equipment suppliers: Alpine Medical Hardware Limited (Alpine) and Device Technologies New Zealand Limited (DTNZ).
He also pleaded guilty to one representative charge under the Crimes Act of corruptly disclosing official information and receiving approximately $35,428 from Scotland-based software company Newgate Technology Limited and/or NZ based company Technology Solutions Industry (TSI) Limited.
Mr Gorham, who worked as a Senior Manager of the Central Sterile Supply Department from July 2007 to 14 October 2016, never disclosed the payments that were made to him to the ADHB, despite being under an obligation to do so.
“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,” SFO Director Karen Chang said.
“His actions risked undermining the trust in our public services. It’s important for New Zealanders to have confidence in the procurement decisions in the public sector, particularly where health and safety could be impacted.
“It’s also important for suppliers in New Zealand and abroad to have faith in our procurement system, by making sure it is fair, and free of fraud and corruption.
“The Serious Fraud Office is focused on bringing those who jeopardise the trust in public services, and New Zealand as a safe place to do business, to account. That’s why we extradited Mr Gorham from the United Kingdom in March 2025 where he was held in custody for approximately seven months after he didn’t come back from an approved visit while on bail,” Ms Chang said.
Mr Gorham received 33 payments totaling $210,482.95 from Alpine between September 2008 and October 2016, while the company was supplying medical equipment to the ADHB.
Alpine’s sales increased substantially after Mr Gorham started working at the ADHB, rising from approximately $52,000 per year to approximately $400,000 per year between July 2007 and October 2016, with Mr Gorham authorising the payments of 217 of about 390 Alpine invoices.
On one occasion, Mr Gorham was directly involved in placing a $5,612.73 order from a Pakistani company on behalf of Alpine, which later invoiced the ADHB $39,218.10 for the same order. This was approved by Mr Gorham, and Alpine paid Mr Gorham $22,369.00 to his personal bank account.
Mr Gorham also received $12,630 from DTNZ, after the company was awarded a $1.7 million contract to refit the ADHB Central Sterile Supply Department unit. Mr Gorham was on the panel tasked with preparing vendor requirements to replace washers and sterilisers, and co-authored a report recommending the purchase from DTNZ.
On six occasions, Mr Gorham also disclosed official information to Newgate Technology and/or TSI, during a software procurement process for the ADHB. He provided documents and emails with confidential information on the request for proposal and scoring assessments before these were made available to all potential vendors. The company was awarded the contracts, and it paid Mr Gorham a total of $35,428.