Woman Arrested After Allegedly Posing as Nurse and Caring for Around 60 Patients in California Hospitals

A woman has been arrested for allegedly impersonating a nurse and working in multiple California hospitals without a license.

The Burbank Police Department arrested Amanda Leeann Porter on Nov. 7 after hospital staff at the city’s Saint Joseph Medical Center reported she was impersonating a nurse while caring for patients, police said in a statement.

Police alleged that Porter, originally from Virginia, fraudulently applied for a job at the hospital and was hired. She cared for around 60 patients, per the statement, between April 8 and May 8, before staff realized she was impersonating a real registered nurse who did not live in California.

“By the time Porter was terminated, she received two paychecks for the time she was fraudulently employed,” police added.

Porter, 44 — who police said does not hold a nursing license — is also accused of committing a similar crime at the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles.

“During this investigation, detectives learned that Porter continued to obtain employment with various local hospitals using a variety of false identities,” the police statement said.

Porter had bonded out of custody from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department after being arrested in Santa Clarita, according to police.

Porter faces charges of felony identity theft, felony false impersonation and felony grand theft. According to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, Porter pleaded not guilty to all of the charges on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

“Ms. Porter’s alleged actions are deeply troubling and egregious as she deceived patients and medical professionals alike, betraying the trust of those who rely on our medical community in their most vulnerable time of need,” district attorney George Gascón said in a statement.

“We acknowledge the profound distress that this situation may have caused those who were treated by the defendant,” the statement continued. “Our office will work relentlessly to hold this individual accountable and ensure that justice is served.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that Porter is also on federal probation for a fraud violation in Virginia, and that a woman named Amanda Porter-Eley pleaded guilty to impersonating a nurse and committing bank fraud in the state.

The outlet reported that Burbank police would not confirm whether Amanda Leeann Porter and Amanda Porter-Eley were the same person, but that their ages match and prior court filings have used both names.

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Porter-Eley was found guilty of impersonating a nurse in Virginia and worked for six months as a nursing supervisor without a license, the U.S. Department of Justice said, per the Times. The woman was accused of using the nurse’s identity from September 2015 to 2016 to open bank accounts and take out loans for cash, services and goods worth around $450,000.

Burbank police said that Porter is being held without bail at the L.A. County Central Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood.

Authorities are now seeking more information about Porters’ case, with Burbank police alleging that she “may have committed additional similar offenses in the Southern California area during the past year.”

Anyone with further information is asked to contact local law enforcement or Burbank detectives at (818) 238-3210.