A California police department announced on November 14, 2024, that they had arrested a 44-year-old Virginia woman who had been impersonating a registered nurse at hospitals across Los Angeles County. The woman, who lacked the proper licensing, worked with dozens of patients between April and May 2024 before her deception was discovered.
The woman applied for a nursing position at a local hospital and began overseeing the care of approximately 60 patients from April 8 to May 8, 2024. Her credentials were eventually flagged by hospital staff, who discovered she was using the identity of a legitimate registered nurse who lived out of state. By the time she was terminated, she had already received two paychecks for her fraudulent employment.
The woman does not hold a valid nursing license and is on federal probation for a previous fraud conviction in Virginia. During their investigation, detectives learned that the woman continued to obtain employment at multiple hospitals in the region using a variety of false identities.
On November 7, 2024, police arrested the woman pursuant to an arrest warrant after she bonded out of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s custody for a similar incident at a hospital in Santa Clarita. On November 12, 2024, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed charges of Identity Theft, False Impersonation, and Grand Theft—each a felony—against her.
On November 13, 2024, the woman was arraigned and is currently being held without bail at a regional county detention facility. Detectives believe that she may have committed additional similar offenses in the Southern California area during the past year and are seeking further information.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Healthcare organizations must conduct comprehensive background checks on all potential employees to ensure that they are qualified and legally allowed to work in facilities receiving government funding. This includes criminal background checks, sex offender registry searches, identification verification, past employment history, education verification, and checks against the OIG’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE). For positions requiring certifications or licenses, these credentials must be verified and maintained in the employee’s personnel file. Once hired, ongoing monitoring is necessary to ensure that no employee has been placed on exclusion lists, had their license suspended or revoked, or otherwise become ineligible to practice. Regular and rigorous verification processes are essential to protect patient safety and ensure compliance with healthcare regulations.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures for verifying the status of professional licenses and certifications. Update as necessary.
- Train appropriate staff to follow protocols for verification of licenses and certifications of employees at the time of hire and on an ongoing basis to ensure that those licenses remain up to date and are unencumbered. Educate licensed personnel about their responsibility to maintain an active license, and to notify the administration promptly if their license expires, is suspended, revoked, or if they are added to the OIG’s LEIE. Ensure that all training is documented and that signed acknowledgements are filed in each employee’s personnel or education file to confirm training compliance.
- Periodically audit the licensing and certification statuses of all employees to ensure that their credentials are valid and up to date. If any negative findings arise (e.g., an expired license or disqualified certification), address them immediately by taking corrective action, which may include suspending the individual from clinical duties, notifying the appropriate regulatory bodies, or even terminating their employment if necessary. Ensure that corrective actions are documented and that the employee is informed about the steps being taken to address the issue.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, Inc. for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
