A woman who repeatedly posed as a registered nurse to gain employment in multiple states has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison.
Leticia Gallarzo, 51, formerly of Wayland, Mich., was sentenced Jan. 26 to 75 months in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft and creating false medical records claiming she was a licensed nurse, the Justice Department said in a Jan. 27 news release.
Prosecutors said Ms. Gallarzo assumed the identities of real nurses to obtain jobs at healthcare facilities in Michigan and other states. Between August 2022 and May 2023, she used a stolen identity to gain employment at a nursing home in Michigan, where she was later promoted to unit manager. She was demoted once her real identity was discovered, according to the release.
She pleaded guilty in 2023. While awaiting sentencing, Ms. Gallarzo fled Michigan and later was found working under false credentials again — this time as a nurse and physician assistant in Illinois and California. She was arrested near Los Angeles and returned to Michigan for sentencing.
Prosecutors said this is the third time Ms. Gallarzo has been convicted of impersonating a nurse since 2016.
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