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Kent man convicted of using stolen nurse identities to place ‘impostor nurses’ in nursing homes

Kent man convicted of using stolen nurse identities to place ‘impostor nurses’ in nursing homes An exterior sign for the Office of the Attorney General in Washington. (Photo courtesy of the Office of the Attorney General) (Photo courtesy of the Office of the Attorney General)

A King County jury returned guilty verdicts on all charges against a man who used stolen nurse identities to place unqualified workers in nursing homes.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, David Mungai Njenga created a sham staffing agency in Kent, called Heritage Medical Staffing, Inc., before renaming it to Pro Med Alliance Medical Staffing, Inc., and collected payments for what facilities believed were licensed nurses, but were instead “impostor nurses” using identities and credentials of real nurses that he stole.

Many of the impostor nurses displayed a lack of basic healthcare knowledge, including how to take a patient’s blood pressure or administer the correct medication.

“This verdict is the result of our team’s commitment to cracking down on Medicaid fraud and ensuring the safety of our health system,” Attorney General Nick Brown said. “We are gratified to get justice for the many people harmed and put at risk by these crimes.”

Additionally, Njenga kept most of that money for himself, paying the impostor nurses far below what real nurses would be paid. The impostor nurses worked at long-term care facilities in several areas, including Bothell, North Bend, Redmond, Shoreline, Vashon Island, and Yakima.

The Washington State Medicaid Fraud & Abuse Division (MFA) won default judgments of $40,500 against each of Njenga’s aforementioned businesses.

Jurors convicted Njenga of leading organized crime, identity theft, and first-degree theft.

He will be sentenced June 16 and could face up to 16.5 years in prison.

This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com

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