Juan Manuel Perez, Impersonating a LVN, TX 2024

San Benito man Juan Manuel Perez, 36, is headed to federal prison after admitting to impersonating a Licensed Vocational Nurse and providing unauthorized medical care to patients across the Rio Grande Valley. The scam ran for nearly eight months — putting vulnerable patients at risk while Perez cashed paychecks under a stolen identity.

Perez pleaded guilty on November 3, 2016, to aggravated identity theft, a charge that carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence. Today, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez delivered that sentence without leniency, emphasizing the danger posed by allowing an unlicensed man to perform medical duties. ‘He denied patients the right to care from a licensed professional,’ Alvarez stated in court.

The fraud began in December 2014 when Perez was hired by Cleveland Health Care LLC in McAllen. He submitted a license number belonging to a real LVN — one who shared his name. But Perez had no credentials. He was never licensed by the Texas Board of Nursing, and authorities say he never completed the training or exams required to legally practice.

From December 2015 to July 2016, Perez conducted home health visits, administering medical services while posing as a qualified nurse. Patients, many elderly or chronically ill, had no way of knowing the man treating them was a fraud. The company only discovered the deception after an internal audit uncovered the mismatched license.

The investigation was led by the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Federal prosecutors Andrew Swartz and Michael Day of the U.S. Attorney’s Office built the case swiftly once evidence mounted.

Perez had been free on bond since his arrest. He will now voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the coming weeks. His conviction stands as a warning in an era of rising healthcare fraud — especially in high-demand, low-supervision fields like home health care.