Indiana woman charged with fraud, identity theft in case of stolen nursing license

A federal grand jury has indicted an Indianapolis woman on several counts of fraud and identity theft in connection with the theft of a stolen LPN license used to obtain jobs at three nursing homes.

Between February 2020 and March 2022, Rochelle Perry, 49, submitted five fraudulent applications for employment to Indianapolis-area nursing homes and assisted living facilities using a stolen Social Security number and a stolen LPN license number, according to a May 31 press release from the U.S attorney's office in the Southern District of Indiana. Ms. Perry has never received any type of nursing license in the state of Indiana, the release said.

Ms. Perry received Social Security disability insurance benefits under her true Social Security number and reportedly didn't want those benefits to be reduced or eliminated by having a job, according to federal prosecutors. The release said she also knew she might not pass an employment background check if she applied to a healthcare facility with her true Social Security number.

Of the five job applications, four were for LPN positions. Ms. Perry obtained a job as a memory care program coordinator in 2020 at one facility and then two jobs as an LPN at two facilities in 2021, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Between 2019 and 2022, Ms. Perry also received more than $54,990 in Social Security disability benefits and submitted paperwork declaring she had not earned any income since 2019, according to the release.

Ms. Perry was arrested and the indictment was unsealed May 31 after her initial appearance in court. She is being charged with five counts of Social Security number fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of Social Security disability benefits fraud. If convicted on all counts, she could face up to five years in federal prison.

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