Woman Who Posed as Licensed Registered Nurse Sentenced to 75 Months in Prison

Leticia Gallarzo Repeatedly Assumed the Identities of Licensed Registered Nurses to Work at Health Care Facilities in Michigan and Other States

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that Leticia Gallarzo, age 51, formerly of Wayland, Michigan, was sentenced yesterday to 75 months in prison for creating false medical records indicating that she was licensed as a registered nurse. She was also sentenced for committing aggravated identity theft after fraudulently assuming the identity of a real nurse licensed in Michigan.

Between August 2022 and May 2023, Gallarzo worked as a registered nurse at a nursing home in the Western District of Michigan.  Gallarzo obtained her employment through Indeed.com by assuming the identity of a registered nurse licensed in Michigan.  Gallarzo created a fake nursing license, diploma, and identification documents to make it appear to the nursing home that she was in fact an individual trained and licensed as a registered nurse.  After obtaining employment, Gallarzo applied for and obtained a promotion to the position of unit manager, meaning she supervised other health care professionals in the care they provided to the nursing home residents.  Gallarzo performed patient assessments, administered medications, started intravenous lines, and carried out other nursing duties.  As Gallarzo’s performance as a nurse faltered, the nursing home demoted her, and she began to look for another nursing job. Fortunately, her prospective employer uncovered her real identity and reported her to authorities.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan charged Gallarzo with fraud and aggravated identity theft on September 26, 2023. She pled guilty in October 2023.  After entering a guilty plea and while awaiting her sentencing hearing, Gallarzo fled the jurisdiction and again fraudulently obtained employment as a physician assistant and registered nurse in Illinois and California.  She was finally apprehended near Los Angeles, California, and transported back to the Western District of Michigan for yesterday’s sentencing hearing.

The current case represents the third time Gallarzo has been convicted of falsely representing herself as a nurse. This was not the first time Gallarzo had committed this crime. In 2016, the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office convicted Gallarzo of fraudulently impersonating a licensed nurse.  In 2017, Gallarzo was convicted of this again by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.  Despite her convictions by those authorities, Gallarzo was not deterred.  

U.S. Attorney VerHey said, “This is far more than a fraud case.  Nurses make life and death decisions for the people under their care, and everyone has the right to expect that their health is being attended to by a person with extensive medical training.  It is shocking that Gallarzo would repeatedly put herself in such a position, without any of the necessary training, just because she wanted money. I am very happy to say that our investigation has not disclosed anyone physically harmed by Gallarzo’s conduct, but that is just a happy accident and not because of anything she did. Gallarzo richly deserved the 75-month sentence imposed by Judge Maloney.”

"This 75-month federal prison sentence sends a clear and unmistakable message: no one gets to lie about their credentials, falsify medical records, or steal identities without facing serious consequences,” said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “Leticia Gallarzo abused the trust placed in medical professionals and put patients at risk. Because of the relentless work of the FBI Grand Rapids Resident Agency, she can no longer fraudulently perform patient assessments or endanger this community. I commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan for its strong partnership and successful prosecution."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division, Grand Rapids Field Office investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Stella prosecuted the case.