Pennsylvania State Police are asking health care companies to review their employment records as they investigate a woman accused of using at least 10 aliases to pose as a nurse for five years.
Shannon Nicole Womack, 39, used the aliases to pose as a licensed practical nurse, a registered nurse and a registered nurse supervisor at rehabilitation and nursing homes across the state, police alleged in a news release.
She faces charges of "corrupt organizations," endangering the welfare of care, unlawful use of a computer, identity theft, forgery and theft by unlawful taking, among multiple other charges, state police said.
"She is charged with securing the nursing positions through staffing agencies by submitting fraudulently signed documents and also by creating a false LLC to deploy herself to jobs. Reports indicate Womack worked at each of these jobs for only a short time," state police said.
The facilities are asked to call the state police if any of her aliases match employment records.
Investigators confirmed that some of the names she used were Shannon Nicole Parham, Shannon Nicole Abiola, Shannon Nicole Armstrong, Shannon Abiola-Parham, Shannon Nicole Grimes, Shannon Nicole Lawson, Shannon Nicole Lethco, Shannon Nicole Robinson, Shannon Lee Lawson and Shannon Nicole Womack.
It’s unclear whether she has an attorney.
The Bureau of Criminal Investigation began investigating Womack in April after a routine traffic stop in Pittsburgh, during which she presented a fake ID, according to the criminal complaint. Police say that her vehicle was registered in Georgia but that the registration had expired.
Troopers say that inside the vehicle, they found several forms of ID, prescription medications from different nursing facilities that were prescribed to residents, medical documents, patient logs and medical equipment, according to the complaint.
Womack was the subject of multiple warrants in several states related to fraud and impersonating a nurse, according to state troopers.
Authorities allege she used the identities of four real health care workers from multiple Southern states to get jobs in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee and Georgia. A probable cause affidavit says she is not a licensed medical professional in any state.
She was also listed on the Georgia "Nursing Imposter Alerts" site, according to the affidavit. The state’s attorney general issued a cease-and-desist order but could not locate her.
In Pennsylvania, nine employers had placed Womack on "Do Not Retain" status because of professional misconduct before her arrest, according to investigators.
Authorities alleged that seven Social Security numbers were connected to Womack, and they accused her of using fake references to secure jobs and creating a phony staffing agency to funnel work to herself.
"She was going through proper host agency channels and then created her own, as like her own fake secretary, answering the phone call, giving it to herself," State Trooper Rocco Gagliardi said Monday at a news conference. "She put a lot of time and effort to get approved from these different agencies."
During a brief stint at Southmont of Presbyterian Senior Care in Washington County, Pennsylvania, Womack diverted oxycodone pills intended for residents, a criminal complaint alleges. Investigators said she was in charge of the medical cart during her shift and failed to distribute medication to residents.
"Five residents were affected by said acts as over 120 oxycodone 5mg pills were missing," the affidavit reads.
Womack worked at the facility in March for one shift before she was placed on "do not retain" status due to professional misconduct, according to the affidavit.
"This is a vile act, or acts, I should say, not only taking advantage of older citizens in this way," Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said at a news conference.
Police said the scheme dates to the early days of the Covid pandemic when the need for nursing staffers was critical.
"It wasn’t uncommon for these different residence locations, agencies to reach out to host agencies and say we need some extra shifts filled," Gagliardi said. "That started in 2020, and it was such an easy transition. She just kept going after that."
