Nurse impostor arrested at Gilroy hospital gets 1 year behind bars
MORGAN HILL » A West Hollywood man who was arrested last summer for impersonating a nurse to work at a Gilroy hospital was sentenced Friday to one year in Santa Clara County jail, according to prosecutors.
Jeremy Daniel Griffin, 31, pleaded no contest earlier this year to felony charges of identity theft and false impersonation, and three misdemeanor charges. In addition to jail time, he was placed on three years’ formal probation. He has 136 days credit for time served.
Griffin was arrested June 26, 2017, the day he was scheduled to begin his first day of work as a registered nurse at St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy.
During the hiring process, Griffin presented falsified documents in the name of a registered nurse to Aya Healthcare, a travel nursing company. Aya Healthcare became suspicious after reviewing the documents and contacted authorities.
When Griffin showed up to St. Louise for his first day of work he was greeted by investigators with the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Griffin did not meet with any patients.
“This case should serve as a warning that law enforcement will doggedly pursue individuals engaged in identity theft,” Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Vishal Bathija said in a statement.
Griffin does not hold a license as a registered nurse in California, prosecutors said. Griffin previously held a license as a vocational nurse, but in 2014 that license was revoked because of a criminal conviction for receiving stolen property and burglary, according to the state’s Department of Consumer Affairs.
The burglary conviction stemmed from a case in which Griffin allegedly used the identity of a registered nurse to gain employment at a medical facility in Marina del Rey, where he stole property belonging to a doctor at the facility.
Griffin initially faced charges that included identity theft and false impersonation but ultimately pleaded no contest to one felony count of burglary in Los Angeles Superior Court.