BALTIMORE, MD—A Baltimore County woman has pleaded guilty to impersonating nurses and using stolen credentials to gain employment at more than 40 Maryland health care facilities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday.
Thomasina E. Amponsah, 50, pleaded guilty to false statements in connection with health care matters and aggravated identity theft. According to court documents, Amponsah, who never held a nursing license, fraudulently posed as a registered nurse (RN) and licensed practical nurse (LPN) from September 2019 to August 2023.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes, and Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) announced the plea.
According to the plea agreement, Amponsah used stolen nursing licenses and fabricated professional histories to secure jobs at various facilities, including skilled nursing facilities, a Baltimore City public school, and multiple nursing homes. These facilities billed for her services to health care benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Amponsah earned at least $100,000 in wages through her fraudulent employment.
In one instance, Amponsah used the name and a duplicated license of a real nurse, identified in court documents as T.R.S., to get a job at a nursing facility. She was later fired after she admitted to forging a doctor’s signature for a prescription of the opioid painkiller Tramadol.
Amponsah also admitted to using a second stolen identity, that of Identity Victim E.A., to obtain employment through a staffing agency. She worked at at least 21 different skilled nursing facilities with these false credentials. During shifts at one facility in October 2022, she failed to administer prescribed medication to multiple patients and falsified medical records.
Amponsah faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for false statements related to health care matters and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft. The two-year sentence must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed.
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