An Indiana woman has been arrested for allegedly stealing two other nurses’ license numbers and using them to apply for jobs at healthcare facilities.
Ashley Johnson was arrested and charged last month with aggravated identity theft and false statements related to a healthcare matter. Authorities said Johnson applied for jobs at facilities around Indianapolis using the nursing license numbers of two other women — who are both also named Ashley Johnson. Johnson does not have a nursing license of her own, nor has she completed nursing school, according to local reports.
Johnson used one of those stolen numbers to gain employment at Clearvista Lake Health Campus, a continuing care retirement community in Indianapolis, in April of this year. Court records indicate she gave one Clearvista resident the wrong medication while working there.
In a statement to local television station WTHITV10, officials at Clearvista said they received a completed background check on Johnson that showed “no concerns” prior to her start date. In late April, the facility’s background check vendor issued an updated report that showed Johnson was not a registered nurse as she had previously indicated.
“Once we were notified of this licensure discrepancy, we completed an online complaint with the Indiana Attorney General’s office,” the statement reads. “Ms. Johnson was suspended and later terminated once it was confirmed she had falsified licensure information.”
Johnson has since pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements related to healthcare, and faces up to five years in prison. Her case is the second in Indiana this year involving someone stealing a nurse’s identity to work at a nursing home, authorities said.
