(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today announced the guilty plea of a Hamilton County man who impersonated a nurse for almost four years using a stolen identity. Several patients under his care were children.
Yost’s Health Care Fraud section investigated Martez Rhandell Morris, 28, and found that he stole the identity of a nurse and created fraudulent documents to get a job as a licensed practical nurse.
“It’s a special kind of abuse to play pretend nurse to a kid who needs serious care,” Yost said. “The abuse of trust is even worse than the fraud — and I hope the judge takes that into account at sentencing.”
Morris pleaded guilty Monday in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas to one count each of the following felony charges:
- Identity Fraud (F2)
- Tampering With Public Records (F3)
- Medicaid Fraud (F4)
- Practicing Nursing Without a License (F5)
He also pleaded to a first-degree misdemeanor charge of endangering children.
Morris performed duties as an LPN such as providing care for several children and a disabled adult. One of his victims was a 20-month-old child whom Morris gave breathing treatments, administered medication and cleaned the child’s feeding tube.
When confronted by investigators Morris initially denied the allegations, but after 40 minutes of questioning confessed to stealing the nurse’s identity. He also confessed to being a fraud.
Morris spent approximately 8 months in jail after his arrest in 2019 until he posted a $200,000 bond. Sentencing is currently scheduled on December 17.
Attorneys from Yost’s Health Care Fraud section prosecuted the case.