Bond set for woman accused of posing as nurse at Cortland nursing home

by: Nadine Grimley

CORTLAND, Ohio (WKBN) – A woman accused of stealing someone’s identity to work in a local nursing home/senior rehabilitation facility appeared in front of a judge on Friday to answer to criminal charges.

Thirty-year-old Amanda Thorne, of Liberty, entered not guilty pleas on felony charges of unlicensed practice and identity fraud via video.

Her bond was set at $40,000.

“Given the serious nature of these charges, the allegations involving fraudulent conduct, outstanding warrants, our own history of difficulty in securing Miss Thorne’s attendance,” said Judge Thomas Campbell.

At the time of her arrest Thursday morning, Thorne also had an active warrant out of Warren Municipal Court in a telecommunications fraud case.

The charges out of Cortland come after police were asked by the Cortland Health and Rehabilitation Center to investigate Thorne when the facility discovered she had been posing as a legitimate registered nurse who shared her first and last name.

Investigators said Thorne was hired at the facility on Jan. 9. She worked 17 shifts and even left in the middle of one without following protocol.

“It’s still early on in the investigation but it appears that they did take her fingerprints and run her fingerprints and that’s being investigated further to find out how she slipped through the cracks,” said Cortland Police Chief David Morris.

General counsel for Saber Healthcare Group — the company that runs Cortland Healthcare — released the following statement.

“The facility has notified the appropriate governmental agencies and continues to work with them. At all times the facility has acted in the best interests of its resident population and promotes their health, safety, and welfare. No resident was directly and proximately linked to any harm associated with this matter.”

“Cortland Healthcare has been very cooperative with us in working through this investigation and we suspect they will continue that cooperation,” Morris said.

At this point, investigators said they’ve been able to verify Thorne had worked at three other area nursing facilities prior to her time at Cortland Healthcare.

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Bond set for woman accused of posing as nurse at Cortland nursing home