Fla. Woman Arrested on Accusation of Impersonating Nurse and Treating Over 4,400 Patients Despite Not Having a Valid License

A Florida woman has been arrested after allegedly impersonating a nurse and providing medical care to over 4,400 patients without a valid license, according to authorities.

On Wednesday, Aug. 6, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) confirmed that officers apprehended 29-year-old Autumn Bardisa of Palm Coast at her home the previous day, where she was found wearing scrubs. She is accused of posing “as a licensed nurse and provided medical care to thousands of unsuspecting patients,” according to a news release.

Investigators revealed Bardisa allegedly “participated in medical services for 4,486 individuals between June 2024 and January 2025,” despite never holding a valid nursing license, the FCSO said.

Bardisa started working at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway in July 2023, but her contract was terminated on Jan. 22 this year.

The arrest followed a seven-month investigation into Bardisa’s actions. Hospital administrators reported they had fired her for “impersonating a registered nurse by using another person’s license number and submitting false documentation to be employed as an advanced nurse technician” at the facility, the release stated.

The sheriff’s office confirmed Bardisa had been hired as an advanced nurse technician, a role supervised by a registered nurse, beginning July 3, 2023.

According to the release, “When applying, Bardisa claimed to be an ‘education first’ registered nurse, meaning she completed the necessary schooling but had not yet passed the national exam to obtain her license.”

She later told the hospital she had passed the exam and provided a license number that matched someone with her first name, Autumn, but a different last name, police alleged. Bardisa said she had recently married and changed her last name to explain the discrepancy.

However, she never provided the requested marriage license to AdventHealth, the release said.

Despite this, Bardisa was offered a promotion in January 2025, raising suspicions among colleagues, the FCSO stated.

A coworker checked Bardisa’s license status and found she only had an expired certified nursing assistant license, which was reported to administrators.

Further investigation revealed Bardisa never provided the marriage license to verify her identity, leading to her contract termination earlier this year after failing to confirm her identity, the sheriff’s office said.

After the hospital alerted the FCSO, detectives and investigators from the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reviewed documents and interviewed AdventHealth staff and the nurse whose identity Bardisa had used.

The investigation found Bardisa shared a first name with the other nurse, who worked for AdventHealth at a different hospital and had attended school with Bardisa, though they did not personally know each other, the FCSO confirmed.

An arrest warrant was issued charging Bardisa with seven counts of practicing a health care profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information.

“The FCSO Fugitive Unit located Bardisa at her residence and arrested her on her active warrants. She was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where she is being held on a $70,000 bond,” the release stated.

FCSO Sheriff Rick Staly described the case as “one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we’ve ever investigated.”

“This woman potentially put thousands of lives at risk by pretending to be someone she was not and violating the trust of patients, their families, AdventHealth and an entire medical community,” Staly said, per the release.

He credited the thorough investigative efforts of detectives, the State Attorney, Florida’s 7th Circuit R.J. Larizza’s Office, AdventHealth, and state and federal partners, saying Bardisa “will now be held accountable for her reckless and dangerous actions.”

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office declined to provide additional details when contacted by PEOPLE.

AdventHealth also declined to comment, stating they “do not comment on private personnel matters or pending legal matters.”