Nurse Imposter Sentenced
A woman who allegedly posed as a registered nurse by using the license of an actual nurse is facing up to twenty years in prison.
A federal grand jury indicted forty-eight-year-old Leticia Gallarzo, of Allegan County, charging her with wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of making false statements in medical records affecting health care benefit programs, and production of a false identification document.
According to prosecutors, Gallarzo used the name and licensing number of a Michigan nurse to obtain employment at a nursing home and hospice facility.
Gallarzo, who does not have any kind of degree in nursing, allegedly claimed to have earned a master’s degree in nursing from George Washington University.
The hospice facility that employed Gallarzo discovered that her fingerprints matched those on record for state and federal convictions for practicing nursing without a license in Texas in 2015 and 2016.
Gallarzo is presumed innocent of the Michigan charges until proven guilty.