During an investigation by police, a Pennsylvania nurse was discovered using multiple aliases and seven different Social Security numbers for the purpose of providing unlawful medical treatment to patients.
Shannon Nicole Womack, a 39-year-old woman, has been arrested and charged with 43 counts, including endangering the welfare of a care-dependent person, identity theft, forgery, falsely pretending to hold a nursing license, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The deception spanning over two years began in 2020 and crossed multiple states on the eastern side of the country.
Womack, who has been accused of posing as at least four different nurses from other states, used more than 20 aliases and seven different Social Security numbers to fraudulently obtain nursing positions. This extensive web of false identities allowed her to bypass employment and licensing verifications, exploiting healthcare staffing vulnerabilities.
Her actions involved forgery, identity theft, and falsely pretending to hold nursing licenses, enabling her to work illegally in nursing roles at over nine facilities in at least five states, including Georgia, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Indiana. Facilities reported various problems while she was employed, such as missing prescription medications, failures in care delivery, and professional incompetence, raising concerns about the potential harm to vulnerable patients.
Womack's technique was to cycle through aliases and Social Security numbers to continually secure employment despite being flagged or terminated at prior jobs. This case highlights significant gaps in credential verification and cross-state communication in healthcare staffing.
The investigation into Womack's activities is ongoing, and the next court appearance is scheduled for July 29. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Womack took advantage of staffing shortages in healthcare facilities to continue her deception. A search warrant was executed on Womack's vehicle, and investigators found multiple forms of identification, prescription medications prescribed to different victims, medical documents, and various pieces of medical equipment.
Womack was able to obtain employment through staffing agencies across multiple states by submitting fraudulently signed documents and creating a false LLC to self-deploy herself to multiple jobs. She was arrested on Monday, and her bail was set at $250,000.
[1] ABC News, "Imposter Nurse Charged with 43 Counts in Multi-State Deception," 15 June 2023,
- The deception spanning over two years involved chronic diseases, mental health, and general news, as Shannon Womack, posing as multiple nurses, was arrested for fraudulently obtaining nursing positions and working in over nine facilities across five states.
- Womack's actions potentially harmed vulnerable patients, with reports of missing prescription medications, failures in care delivery, and professional incompetence, raising concerns about fitness-and-exercise and health-and-wellness for patients under her care.
- The investigation revealed that Womack's technique included the use of CBD, forgery, identity theft, and falsely pretending to hold nursing licenses, exploiting healthcare staffing vulnerabilities in the face of staffing shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- As more details emerge, crime-and-justice outlets like ABC News, CNN, NBC News, and The Washington Post publish reports on Womack's multi-state deception, highlighting the need for improved health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise standards in staffing verification processes.
- The ongoing investigation reveals that Womack's network extended beyond just the healthcare sector, as investigators found multiple forms of identification, prescription medications, medical documents, and various pieces of medical equipment in her vehicle, casting doubts on the integrity of health data and security within the medical-conditions industry.
