Police: Fake nurse worked at several Pennsylvania healthcare facilities

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Police: Fake nurse worked at several Pennsylvania healthcare facilities 

Fake nurse administered medication to patients at Maryland nursing home, officials say

Story by Natalie Demaree

A Maryland woman has been sentenced after officials said she posed as a registered nurse and handed out medication to patients at a nursing home.

Nicole Van-Horn, 38, faked documentation as a registered nurse to get a job at Denton Nursing and Rehab, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office said in a Jan. 30 news release.

On Jan. 22, she pleaded guilty to one count of Medicaid fraud after she was accused of causing Maryland Medicaid to pay over $3,500 for fake nursing services, prosecutors said.

Now, Van-Horn will serve five years of probation with the first three years under supervision by the Division of Parole and Probation, officials said.

“When someone poses as a medical provider and practices without a license, they threaten the health and safety of those entrusted to their care — a threat made even more serious when their patients are elderly or disabled, some of the most vulnerable Marylanders in our State,” Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said in the release.

Van-Horn fraudulently used identification from a registered nurse in Pennsylvania who has a similar name, then worked nine shifts in August 2023 at the nursing home and rehabilitation center, officials said.

She also pretended to have degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania State University, but records of her attending those schools do not exist, according to prosecutors.

During her time working at the nursing home, Van-Horn “administered medications, cared for patients, and supervised registered nurses, geriatric nursing assistants, and certified medical assistants,” officials said.

Van-Horn is not allowed to work as a nurse unless properly licensed during her probation, and she is not allowed to care for older or vulnerable adults, officials said. She is also excluded from working with any federal- or state-funded health care agency.

Denton is about a 45-mile drive southeast from Annapolis.

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Fake nurse administered medication to patients at Maryland nursing home, officials say

Fake nurse worked at multiple hospitals in L.A. County, police say

by: Travis Schlepp

(KTLA) — Police have arrested a woman who they say has been posing as a nurse and working at hospitals throughout Los Angeles County without a license.

The Burbank Police Department announced Thursday that Amanda Leeann Porter, 44, of Virginia, allegedly posed as a registered nurse at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center and oversaw dozens of patients for an entire month.

Porter does not hold a nursing license and is currently on federal probation for a fraud conviction in her home state, police said.

She was hired by the Catholic hospital back in April under a false identity. From April 8 to May 8, she oversaw as many as 60 patients before her colleagues discovered she was impersonating a real nurse who lived out of the state.

Amanda Leeann Porter, 44, of Virginia, is shown in this mugshot provided by the Burbank Police Department on Nov. 14, 2024.

She was eventually fired, but not before collecting two paychecks for her fraudulent employment, officials said.

Porter was arrested last week after she was released from custody for allegedly pulling the same stunt at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Santa Clarita. Investigators said she’s obtained employment with several hospitals using false identities.

Both hospitals released statements to KTLA in which they stated Porter was terminated immediately after the truth about her identity and qualifications was revealed.

She was under a probationary phase of her employment and was under the supervision of a qualified training nurse during her time at both hospitals. Neither health care facility believed the care she administered during her brief time on their payrolls was inadequate, officials said.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has filed multiple felony charges against her, officials said, including identity theft, false impersonation, and grand theft.

She’s currently being held without bail at the Los Angeles County Central Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood.

She is due to appear in Burbank Municipal Court on Dec. 2, jail records show.

Investigators believe Porter may have committed similar crimes throughout Southern California over the last year, and anyone with information is urged to contact Burbank PD Detective Arias at 818-238-3210.

Anonymous tips can be provided online or by calling 800-222-8477.

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Fake nurse worked at multiple hospitals in L.A. County, police say