Serial Imposter Nurse Charged in Mich.

Sarasota, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) – A Michigan woman posing as a nurse could be facing up to 20 years in prison, according to a recent announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. 

An indictment was announced Wednesday for Leticia Gallarzo, 48, of Allegan County that included charges for wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of making false statements in medical records that affect health care benefit programs, and production of a false identification document. 

According to investigators, Gallarzo allegedly used the name and Michigan nursing license number of someone else to get  hired as a registered nurse at both a local nursing home and a hospice facility. Despite not having a degree of any kind, Gallarzo allegedly represented herself as having not only a nursing license, but also a master’s degree in nursing from George Washington University, and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Davenport University.

It wasn’t until the hospice employer did a fingerprint check did they discover that Gallarzo’s fingerprints matched for a previous conviction. In 2015 and 2016, Gallarzo had previous state and federal convictions in Texas for practicing nursing without a license there. 

In July 2017, Gallarzo had pleaded guilty to five counts of making false statements relating to health care after she had admitted to repeatedly posing as a nurse to obtain employment. Gallarzo was sentenced to 14 months, follow by three years of parole. In addition, she was ordered to pay $34,000 in restitution. 

At the time of her pleading guilty, Gallarzo had admitted to lying about being registered nurse on five occasions in her attempt to gain employment. Due to her misrepresentation, she was hired at two hospitals and three nursing homes across five different cities in a total of seven months. Each time the employer would discover the cover up, Gallarzo would seek employment in a new city at another medical facility. 

According to the Texas Board Of Nursing, Gallarzo used multiple aliases, including Leticia Garza Gallarzo, Leticia Galindo Gallarzo, and Leticia Gallarzo Galindo. She also used the RN license number that belonged to a licensed nurse with a similar name when she applied for employment with a staffing agency where she was hired. 

Even with all the safety protocols and license checks in place, stealing of a nursing license is not uncommon. Earlier this year, Rochelle Perry, 49, of Indianapolis, Indiana was indicted by federal jury for allegedly working at two employers under an LPN license that belonged to someone else. 

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