A Virginia woman was apprehended for impersonating a registered nurse for a month and purportedly working at various hospitals across California while managing the care of around 60 patients.
Amanda Leeann Porter, 44, was taken into custody by the Burbank Police Department on Tuesday after it was disclosed that she was masquerading as a nurse at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Los Angeles County, as reported by KTLA.
Porter took care of approximately 60 patients at the hospital and received two paychecks between April 8 and May 8 before staff realized she was impersonating a legitimate, registered nurse not licensed in California, according to the department.
The hospital terminated her employment and reported her actions to the authorities, as per KTLA.
The LA County District Attorney charged Porter with three felonies: identity theft, false impersonation, and grand theft on Tuesday.
During their investigation, the Burbank Police Department discovered that Porter had previously pretended to be a nurse.
The Burbank Police Department found that the LA County Sheriff’s Department had arrested Porter on suspicion of a similar offense at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Santa Clarita.
Porter had posted bail and was released from custody by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
Burbank PD Detectives revealed that Porter is believed to have secured employment with multiple local hospitals in California using various false identities.
Detectives suspect that other local hospitals hired Porter after she utilized false identities.
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital informed KTLA that Porter was in a probationary phase of employment and was supervised by a qualified training nurse during her tenure.
Both hospitals informed the patients she cared for about the incident.
According to the LA Times, Porter is also on federal probation for a fraud violation in Virginia.
Per the US Department of Justice, a woman named Amanda Porter-Eley, matching the suspect’s age and also referred to as “Amanda L. Porter” in court filings, pleaded guilty to impersonating a nurse and committing bank fraud in Virginia in 2017.
Porter-Eley was found guilty of working as a nursing supervisor without the required licenses at a hospital in Virginia for six months before being terminated.
She continued using the real nurse’s identity until her arrest in September 2016, causing over $120,000 in losses to banks and retailers.
During that time, she fraudulently opened multiple bank accounts and obtained over $450,000 in cash, loans, goods, and services, including at least three vehicles and a property under the stolen nurse’s identity.
Porter-Eley also pleaded guilty to opening bank accounts using other people’s Social Security numbers, where prosecutors found she obtained nearly $50,000 in worthless checks.
The Burbank Police Department did not confirm whether Amanda Leeann Porter and Amanda Porter-Eley are the same person as the investigation is ongoing, as per the LA Times.
