Woman Who Stole Identities to Work in Healthcare Is Sentenced to 6+ Years in Prison

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Source: MedPage Today

Original: https://www.medpagetoday.com/nursing/nursing/119664...

Published: Sun, 01 Feb 2026 10:00:00 -0500

Leticia Gallarzo, a 51-year-old woman from Wayland, Michigan, was sentenced to 75 months in prison for identity theft and fraud.[1][3][4] She stole identities to work as a nurse or physician's assistant in several states, including Michigan, Illinois, and California.[3][4][5] From August 2022 to May 2023, she worked at a Michigan nursing home where she created a fake nurse's license, diploma, and identification documents.[4] She was promoted to supervise other healthcare workers, but after her identity was revealed and her performance declined, she was demoted and her employer reported her to the police.[4] Gallarzo pleaded guilty to fraud and aggravated identity theft in October 2023, but fled Michigan in 2024 and continued to work under false identities in Chicago and near Los Angeles.[3][4] She was arrested in September near Los Angeles and returned to Michigan.[3][4] This is her third conviction for impersonating a sister – previously in 2016 in Kent County and in 2017 in Texas.[4] The FBI led the investigation and the case was decided by Judge Paul Maloney.[1][4]