Fake nurse put hospice patients at risk — until employer saw past convictions, feds say
After she was convicted of practicing as a nurse without a license in Texas, a woman went to Michigan and again worked as an impostor, according to federal authorities.
Now, the woman has been charged with identity theft, according to court records filed in the Western District of Michigan.
“The allegations in this case involving a woman faking as a professionally licensed nurse are dangerous and put unsuspecting patients in harm’s way,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in an Aug. 2 news release.
A defense attorney for the woman was not listed in federal court records as of Aug. 3.
Authorities said the 48-year-old woman used someone else’s name and Michigan licensing number to apply for a job at a Michigan hospice facility.
She did not have a valid nursing license of her own, according to the release. She also did not have any degree in nursing despite telling the employer that she had a master’s degree in nursing from The George Washington University.
She got the job, according to court records. But during her orientation, she gave a driver’s license with her real name. Then on May 23, she was fingerprinted as part of a Michigan Workforce Background Check.
“The hospice facility learned that (she) was a nurse impostor when her fingerprints matched the fingerprints on record due to her previous state and federal convictions for practicing nursing without a license in Texas in 2015 and 2016,” officials said.
She was immediately fired after receiving more than $1,000 in pay, authorities said in court records.
About a week later, on June 1, authorities said they found the woman working as a registered nurse at a Michigan skilled nursing home facility.
In her interview with officers, the woman said she was working as a “unit manager,” according to court records. In that role, she said “her job responsibilities included making sure that the certified nurse assistants completed all of their nursing tasks appropriately.”
If convicted of the identity theft charge, she’ll face up to 15 years in federal prison, according to the release.
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