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The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Florida woman arrested after posing as a nurse and treating thousands of people, officials say
A Florida woman is accused of posing as a licensed nurse and giving medical care to thousands of patients, authorities said. Autumn Marie Bardisa, 29, of Palm Coast, participated in medical services involving 4,486 people from June 2024 until January 2025, the Flagler county sheriff's office said. 'This is one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated,' Flagler county sheriff Rick Staly said in announcing the arrest. Bardisa was apprehended in the driveway of her home Tuesday and was jailed on multiple charges that include practicing health care without a license, sheriff's officials said. She was being held on $70,000 bond and was due in court for an arraignment tentatively set for 2 September. No lawyer who could speak on behalf of Bardisa was listed in local court records. The sheriff's office said Bardisa used another healthcare worker's license number and submitted false documentation to be employed as an advanced nurse technician at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway. 'This woman potentially put thousands of lives at risk by pretending to be someone she was not and violating the trust of patients, their families, AdventHealth and an entire medical community,' Staly said. Officials say they've set up a special email, fakenursecase@ and are asking anyone who thinks they might have been a victim in the case to email the sheriff's office. Palm Coast is about 60 miles (97km) south of Jacksonville, Florida.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Florida woman faked her way into a nursing job — then it all unraveled, charges say
A Florida woman posed as a nurse and treated thousands of patients before getting caught in the lie, leading to her arrest and criminal charges, authorities said. Autumn Bardisa, 29, was accused of submitting fake records to get a job at a hospital in Palm Coast, a city of about 100,000 in Flagler County. She treated or helped treat nearly 4,500 patients between June 2024 and January 2025, when she was fired after her ruse unraveled, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office said. Bardisa was charged with seven counts of practicing a health care profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information, each a third-degree felony that carries up to five years in prison, the sheriff's office said. She was arrested on Aug. 5 while wearing medical scrubs, a photo released by the sheriff's office showed. She is being held on a $70,000 bond, jail records show. 'This is one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated,' Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement. It wasn't immediately clear if Bardisa had an attorney who could comment on her behalf. How did Florida woman get hired as a nurse? According to the sheriff's office, investigators learned that Bardisa was hired by the AdventHealth hospital in Palm Coast in July 2023 as an advanced nurse tech, working under supervision of a registered nurse. In her application, Bardisa said she had completed the required education for nursing but hadn't yet passed the national exam to obtain a license. During the course of her hiring, she told the hospital she had completed the exam and provided a license number, the sheriff's office said. The license number matched a registered nurse who had the same first name but a different last name, which Bardisa told the hospital was because she had recently gotten married. AdventHealth asked her to provide her marriage license, but she never did. During her time on the job, Bardisa participated in medical services to 4,486 people despite never actually holding a valid nursing license, the sheriff's office said. Bardisa seemed to do very well at her job, Staly told the Daytona Beach News-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, in an interview. She did so well that she eventually was up for a promotion. That's when things unraveled, he said. How Bardisa got caught, officials say In January 2025, Bardisa was offered a promotion. That's when a fellow employee checked Bardisa's license. The employee discovered that Bardisa had a certified nursing assistant license, which had expired, the sheriff's office stated. The employee reported her discovery to administrators. AdventHealth investigated and found that Bardisa had not provided her marriage license as she had been asked to do. Administrators fired Bardisa on Jan. 22, 2025, and the hospital contacted the sheriff's office. Investigators found that the license number Bardisa provided belonged to another nurse. Flagler County Sheriff's Office detectives and investigators with the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 'determined that Bardisa shared a first name with the other nurse, who was employed by AdventHealth, but at a different hospital, and had attended school with her,' the sheriff's office said. But the two women did not know each other. Staly said in the phone interview that the nurse whose credentials Bardisa used for her fraud works at an AdventHealth hospital in South Florida. He said Bardisa graduated from Rasmussen University, which according to its website, has campuses in Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin. Staly said Bardisa was going to be promoted to "charge nurse" when the hospital uncovered her deceit. A charge nurse supervises their specific nursing unit and ensures that nurses perform operations "smoothly and efficiently" within the department, according to the American Nurses Association website. "I guess her degree is in this area," Staly said. "But that doesn't make it right for you to steal someone's identity and pretend that you are a registered licensed nurse." Lindsay Cashio, AdventHealth's executive director of communications for the region, told the News-Journal in an email that the hospital does not comment on personnel or pending legal matters. After firing, Bardisa became a real registered nurse After she was fired, Bardisa passed her state test and became a registered nurse, receiving her license on Feb. 18. Staly said the state might revoke her license due to the accusations against her. 'This woman potentially put thousands of lives at risk by pretending to be someone she was not and violating the trust of patients, their families, AdventHealth and an entire medical community," Staly said, calling her actions "reckless and dangerous." Staly said his office is not aware of "any injury or death that occurred while she was working for AdventHealth that was related to any care that she provided." He said the state decided to charge Bardisa with one count of each charge for each of the seven months she committed the fraud because it would bog down the legal system to charge her with 4,486 counts. "I give credit that she eventually got caught by AdventHealth and they reported it instead of trying to hide it like some corporations might try to do," Staly said. "I won't speak for AdventHealth but clearly there's a follow-up flaw in their onboarding process. Ask for proof that she got married and she never provided it." The sheriff's office asked anyone who believed they might be a victim to email fakenursecase@ for information. Fake nurses and doctors arrested in several states Fake nurses and doctors have been caught in several states in recent years, leading to multiple arrests. Earlier this year, a New York man was arrested after prosecutors said he posed as a doctor and performed a botched cosmetic surgery in his apartment, leaving a woman brain dead. She later died. Felipe Hoyos Foronda then tried to flee the country but was nabbed at an airport and charged with assault and unauthorized practice of a profession. Last month, police in Pennsylvania arrested Shannon Nicole Womack, who they said used at least 20 aliases to work as a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse and registered nurse supervisor to care for patients at rehabilitation and nursing homes without proper licenses. More arrests have have been documented in Ohio, Michigan and Mississippi. Federal prosecutors in May charged a New York man, Kevin M. Whitman, with distributing and dispensing a controlled substance and fraud after they said he pretended to be a doctor and used someone else's credentials to issue 177 prescriptions of controlled substances including oxycodone. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida woman faked her way into a nursing job, charges say Solve the daily Crossword
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Associated Press
A Florida woman posed as a nurse and treated thousands of unsuspecting patients, officials say
PALM COAST, Fla. (AP) — A Florida woman is accused of posing as a licensed nurse and giving medical care to thousands of patients, authorities said. Autumn Marie Bardisa, 29, of Palm Coast, participated in medical services involving 4,486 people from June 2024 until January 2025, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office said. 'This is one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated,' Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in announcing the arrest. Bardisa was apprehended in the driveway of her home Tuesday and is jailed on multiple charges that include practicing health care without a license, sheriff's officials said. She's being held on $70,000 bond and is due in court for a Sept. 2 arraignment. No lawyer who could speak on behalf of Bardisa was listed in local court records. The sheriff's office said Bardisa used another health care worker's license number and submitted false documentation in order to be employed as an advanced nurse technician at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway in Palm Coast. 'This woman potentially put thousands of lives at risk by pretending to be someone she was not and violating the trust of patients, their families, AdventHealth and an entire medical community,' Staly said. Officials say they've set up a special email, [email protected], and are asking anyone who thinks they might have been a victim in the case to email the sheriff's office. Palm Coast is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Jacksonville, Florida.
CBS News
5 days ago
- CBS News
Florida woman impersonated nurse and treated over 4,000 patients, authorities say
A Northeast Florida woman has been arrested after allegedly impersonating a registered nurse and providing medical care to thousands of unsuspecting patients over the course of 18 months, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday. Autumn Bardisa, 29, from Palm Coast, was charged with seven counts of practicing a health care profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information, after a seven-month investigation involving local, state, and federal agencies, the sheriff's office said in a news release. "This is one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated," Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. "This woman potentially put thousands of lives at risk by pretending to be someone she was not and violating the trust of patients." She was arrested Tuesday and is being held on a $70,000 bond, FCSO said. Authorities said Bardisa used another nurse's license number to fraudulently gain employment at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway Hospital, where she worked from July 2023 until January 2025. According to her arrest affidavit, cited by CBS Orlando affiliate WKMG, Bardisa assumed a name similar to her own in order to obtain the job, which required a registered nurse license. She claimed to be an "education first" RN, someone who completed nursing school but had not yet passed the national licensing exam. She then told the hospital she had passed the exam and submitted a license number belonging to a nurse who shared her first name but had a different last name. Bardisa explained the discrepancy by claiming she had recently gotten married, but never provided a marriage certificate despite repeated requests, FCSO said. The alleged deception unraveled in January 2025, when Bardisa was considered for a promotion. A colleague discovered she only had an expired certified nursing assistant license and notified hospital administrators. AdventHealth terminated Bardisa on Jan. 22 and contacted the sheriff's office to launch a criminal investigation. According to investigators, Bardisa treated approximately 4,486 patients between June 2024 and January 2025, despite never holding a valid RN license. She also allegedly received payment for those services, according to her charging affidavit cited by WKMG. Bardisa is also accused of selling prescription medication, including semaglutide, better known by its brand name Ozempic, to a coworker and allegedly administering a birth control injection to another AdventHealth employee, WKMG reported. The real nurse whose identity was used told investigators she attended college at the same time as Bardisa but did not know her personally and never gave permission for her information to be used. The case was investigated in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Florida Department of Health, and the Office of State Attorney R.J. Larizza for Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Fla. Woman Arrested on Accusation of Impersonating Nurse and Treating Over 4,400 Patients Despite Not Having a Valid License
Autumn Bardisa, 29, of Palm Coast, was arrested at her home wearing her scrubs on Tuesday, Aug. 5NEED TO KNOW Florida resident Autumn Bardisa was arrested on Aug. 5 after a months-long investigation Police claim Bardisa posed as a licensed nurse and provided medical care to more than 4,400 patients The sheriff called the alleged incident "one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated"A woman in Florida has been arrested after allegedly impersonating a nurse and treating over 4,400 patients without a valid medical license, authorities have said. On Wednesday, Aug. 6, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office (FCSO) confirmed officers had arrested Autumn Bardisa, 29, of Palm Coast, at her home in her scrubs the day prior after accusing her of posing "as a licensed nurse and provided medical care to thousands of unsuspecting patients," per a news release. Investigators had discovered Bardisa allegedly "had participated in medical services to 4,486 individuals from June 2024 through January 2025, despite never holding a valid nursing license," the FCSO said. She began working at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway in Palm Coast in July 2023, before her contract was terminated on Jan. 22 of this year. The arrest came after a seven-month investigation into Bardisa's alleged crimes. Hospital administrators had reported "they had terminated Bardisa for impersonating a registered nurse by utilizing another individual's license number and submitting false documentation to be employed as an advanced nurse technician" at the facility, the release stated. The hospital claimed that Bardisa had been hired as an advanced nurse tech to work under the supervision of a registered nurse, on July 3, 2023, the sheriff's office confirmed. "When applying for the position, Bardisa indicated that she was an 'education first' registered nurse, meaning that she passed the required schooling to become a registered nurse but had not yet passed the national exam to obtain her license," the release noted. Bardisa had then informed the hospital that she "had passed the exam and provided a license number matching an individual with her first name, Autumn, but with a different last name," police alleged. She insisted she'd recently gotten married and had a new last name in a bid to explain herself. "Bardisa was then asked to provide her marriage license to AdventHealth, which she never did," the release alleged. Despite never providing the information, Bardisa was offered a promotion in January 2025, and this sparked "interest among her colleagues," the FCSO alleged. A fellow employee then "checked the status of Bardisa's license and discovered that she had an expired certified nursing assistant license, which the employee reported to administrators," the release noted. During an investigation, AdventHealth "discovered that Bardisa had never provided her marriage license as requested to confirm her identity," the sheriff's office said, stating that the suspect's contract was then terminated earlier this year "after she failed to confirm her identity." After the hospital contacted the FCSO to conduct a criminal investigation, detectives and investigators with the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services "reviewed documents and conducted interviews with AdventHealth employees and the nurse whose identity Bardisa stole," the release stated. "The investigation determined that Bardisa shared a first name with the other nurse, who was employed by AdventHealth, but at a different hospital, and had attended school with her. However, the two did not personally know each other," the FCSO confirmed. An arrest warrant was issued for the suspect on the following charges: seven counts of practicing a health care profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information. "The FCSO Fugitive Unit located Bardisa at her residence and arrested her on her active warrants. She was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where she is being held on a $70,000 bond," the release noted. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. FCSO Sheriff Rick Staly called the case "one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated.' 'This woman potentially put thousands of lives at risk by pretending to be someone she was not and violating the trust of patients, their families, AdventHealth and an entire medical community," Staly said, per the release. "Thanks to great investigative work between our detectives and State Attorney, Florida's 7th Circuit R.J. Larizza's Office and AdventHealth, along with our state and federal partners, she'll now be held accountable for her reckless and dangerous actions," he added. The Flagler County Sheriff's Office didn't have any additional information to add at this time when contacted by PEOPLE AdventHealth said they "do not comment on private personnel matters or pending legal matters" when contacted by PEOPLE. Read the original article on People
