Nurse imposter with fake diplomas skips sentencing

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. ( WOOD ) — A Michigan woman who repeatedly passes herself off as a nurse — despite no formal training — can now add another title to her embellished resume: wanted felon.

Leticia Gallarzo, 49, has convictions in two states for impersonating a registered nurse. She was supposed to appear in a federal courtroom this week for sentencing but was a no-show.

An order revoking her bond was signed Tuesday.

“It is clear that to date she has had zero respect for the law,’’ Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald M. Stella contends.

“She is an extreme danger to the public,’’ Stella wrote in a federal sentencing memorandum. “It is just a matter of time before her antics truly injure someone.’’

Stella says a prison term of slightly more than six years is warranted, noting Gallarzo’s pattern of criminal behavior, including four convictions of impersonating a nurse in Texas.

She got 14 months in prison in Texas, and then had more time tacked on for identity theft and shoplifting, court records show.

After being released from federal supervision in the Texas cases, Gallarzo got a nursing job in western Michigan using the identity of an actual nurse in 2022.

“The lack of qualifications did not deter her,’’ Stella wrote in a sentencing memorandum, noting that Gallarzo acted as a nurse and supervised other nurses.

The ruse included false diplomas from Davenport and George Washington University.

After police caught up with her and charges were filed, Gallarzo pleaded guilty to identity theft and making false statements related to health care.

The pleas came in November.

Gallarzo — in violation of bond — left Michigan in January.  Using a fake Illinois driver’s license, she got a job as a physician assistant in Park Ridge, administering Botox and weight loss shots to patients, court records show.

Co-workers say they were suspicious. They said Gallarzo “did not use proper medical terms. . . and always seemed very nervous,” records show.

The attorney representing Gallarzo notes that while Gallarzo is not a registered nurse, “she has had formal training as a medical assistant and as a nurse, as well as years of on-the-job experience in the medical field.’’

“She cares about patients and did not put them in any danger,’’ Britt M. Cobb wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “Any risk, under the circumstances, is speculative rather than actual.’’

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