A woman was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison for impersonating a home health nurse, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
Nora Nely Avila pleaded guilty Jan. 3, 2021. She was accused of incorrectly taking out stitches from a patient’s wound, leading to an infection. In addition to the prison sentence, the judge entered a money judgement against Avila for $52,241.66.
Avila admitted that from January 2017 through December 2019, she impersonated a nurse and performed unlicensed work at multiple hospitals and home health companies in the Laredo area.
From 2017 until 2019, Avila stole the identity of a licensed nurse and repeatedly and fraudulently presented the license and credentials of this licensed nurse at federally-funded Medicare and Medicaid providers throughout Laredo.
At other home health agencies, Avila falsified patient records and failed to show up to work which left patients without needed care. Avila also obtained employment as nurse trainer in the federal-funded Job Corps program and was assigned to train future nurses.