According to officials, a convicted identity thief who acknowledged pretending to be a nurse in Virginia almost ten years ago is now charged with impersonating nurses at least twice this year at Southern California hospitals.
According to a statement released by the city’s police department on Thursday, Amanda Porter, 44, was detained on November 7 in relation to a nursing position she secured at a Burbank medical center by pretending to be an out-of-state certified nurse.
According to the agency, Porter, who lacks a nursing license, was accused with grand theft, fraudulent impersonation, and identity theft. She is being held without bond, according to jail records.
Porter was detained on identical charges connected to a hospital in neighboring Santa Clarita, California, before her arrest in that instance, the agency said.
What allegations Porter might be facing in that case were not immediately apparent. According to jail records, the arresting agency was the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.
The case of Virginia
According to the Burbank police statement, Porter was on probation for a different federal fraud case in Virginia at the time of her arrest on Nov. 7. She admitted to taking the identity of a registered nurse in New York in 2015 and using it to obtain a position as a supervisor at a nursing home close to Norfolk, according to a statement of facts in the federal case that Porter acknowledged was true.
According to the petition, Porter, who is named in the case as Amanda Porter-Eley, held the job for five months before being let go in March 2016.
According to the affidavit, Porter acknowledged creating bank accounts and receiving loans totaling over $100,000 using the nurse’s name, birthdate, and Social Security number. She used these funds to purchase a Ford Mustang for her son, diamond bracelets, a Mercedes Benz, and other items.
According to the documents, she also attempted to get a $176,000 home loan but was turned down.
According to the affidavit, Porter was detained in September 2016 at a Navy credit union while attempting to open an account with a different stolen SSN. She told the arresting officer while she was being taken into custody that “she steals money because it gives her a high like a drug,” the document says, adding that “she wants to give it back after stealing it, but spends it instead.”
Porter was charged with numerous charges of aggravated identity theft, bank and wire fraud, and using a fictitious Social Security number. She was given a nine-year prison sentence after entering a guilty plea to two of the charges.
As of March 13, 2024, according to prison records, she was no longer in federal custody.
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Taking care of numerous patients
According to police in Burbank, Porter reportedly applied for a position at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center this year and managed about 60 patients from April 8 to May 8. She was sacked by hospital officials after they found out she was posing as an out-of-state nurse, according to the department.
The hospital added in a second statement that the personnel quickly informed state and municipal authorities as well as the patients Porter treated after discovering her credentials were fraudulent.
She was supervised by a training nurse for her first five shifts at the hospital, according to the facility.
Officials at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Santa Clarita, about 25 miles away, discovered in October that “an employee” had fabricated paperwork to obtain employment, the hospital said in a statement.
“Once discovered, we took immediate and appropriate action, including terminating her employment and reporting to regulatory and law enforcement authorities,” according to the hospital.
The hospital further stated that there was no sign of compromised care and that Porter, who is not identified in the official statement, was being monitored by a nurse.
Investigators suspect Porter may have committed similar crimes throughout Southern California in the past year, according to the Burbank police, who requested anyone who saw her at a medical facility to contact law enforcement.
