A 36-year-old Laredo resident has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for impersonating a licensed nurse and putting patients at risk, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Nora Nely Avila was convicted of false statements in a healthcare matter after pleading guilty on January 3, 2021.
U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison ordered Avila to serve 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Ellison entered a $52,241.66 money judgment against Avila.
The investigation revealed that Avila impersonated a licensed nurse and performed unlicensed work at multiple hospitals and home health companies in the Laredo area from January 2017 through December 2019.
Avila stole the identity of a licensed nurse and repeatedly presented the license and credentials of this licensed nurse at federally-funded Medicare and Medicaid providers throughout Laredo from 2017 until 2019.
According to court records, Avila also falsified patient records and failed to show up to work, leaving patients without needed care. She even obtained employment as a nurse trainer in the federal-funded Job Corps program, where she was assigned to train future nurses.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Department of Labor – OIG, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Olson prosecuted the case.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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