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State lauds staffing firm for catching phony nurse

June 30, 2017

A man scheduled to start work as a registered nurse was instead arrested at a California hospital on suspicion of identity theft after his documentation raised a red flag for a staffing firm, the California Department of Consumer Affairs reported.

Jeremy Daniel Griffin, of West Hollywood, was met at Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, Calif., last Monday by state investigators who identified him. Griffin does not hold a license as a registered nurse in California, although he previously held a license as a vocational nurse.

The Department of Consumer Affairs lauded the staffing firm and the hospital.

Griffin had provided the name of a real registered nurse to Aya Healthcare, according to the department, but the documents raised suspicion at the healthcare staffing firm.

Aya Healthcare reported Griffin’s license details differed from his date of birth and social security number and it notified the California Board of Registered Nursing.

“We review thousands of nurse profiles monthly to ensure they are fully skilled and compliant for their position and unit,” said Aya Healthcare Director of Compliance Renee Magliano. “When Jeremy Daniel Griffin gave us what appeared to be falsified documents during the screening process, my compliance team got suspicious.”

This wasn’t the first time Griffin had misrepresented himself, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs.

In 2014, the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians revoked Griffin’s license because of criminal convictions for receiving stolen property and burglary. Griffin’s burglary conviction stemmed from a case where he allegedly used the identity of a registered nurse to become employed at a medical site in Marina Del Rey, Calif., where he stole property belonging to a doctor. The Department of Consumer Affairs reported Griffing ultimately pleaded no contest to one count of burglary in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The department believes there may be more victims of Griffin’s identity theft and false personation in California.