Fake nurse with stolen nursing license cared for Michigan patients for months, feds say
While pretending to be a licensed registered nurse, a Michigan woman cared for nursing home patients, signed medical records and got a promotion, authorities said.
But the woman wasn’t qualified for the job, and now she faces up to seven years in prison, according to a Nov. 7 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan.
The 49-year-old woman from Allegan County pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated identity theft and making false statements relating to health care matters, records show.
Her defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Nov. 8.
“The allegations that (she) faked being a licensed nurse and created false medical records are extremely alarming,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in the release. “By allegedly posing as a certified medical professional, she risked patient care and put unsuspecting individuals in harm’s way.”
In the woman’s signed plea agreement, she said she applied for a position with a local nursing home through the job search website Indeed on Aug. 22, 2022. Prosecutors did not identify the nursing home.
She submitted a resume and application that included fake qualifications, authorities said, including that she graduated with a nursing degree from Davenport University in Grand Rapids.
The woman also said she was a licensed registered nurse, but she was using someone else’s nursing licensing number and name, according to court records.
She got the job and worked as a registered nurse from August 2022 until May, prosecutors said.
As an employee of the nursing home, the woman “evaluated and assessed elderly nursing home patients and falsely signed electronic medical records as a licensed registered nurse,” authorities said. “These false statements were related to Medicare, a health care benefit program, because the nursing home relied on (her) status as a licensed registered nurse to meet certain Medicare regulations for participation in and billing of Medicare.”
Authorities said she made more than $80,000 and got a promotion, according to the plea agreement.
Allegan County is about 40 miles southwest of Grand Rapids.
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