"fake" Nurse Gets Six Months In Jail

Attorney General Spitzer today announced that a Canandaigua woman who posed as a registered nurse at a local nursing home and provided nursing care to patients for nearly two years has been sentenced to six months in jail.

Appearing on April 13 before Ontario County Court Judge Craig Doran, Raye Gersonia, 40, of 53 Camelot Court in Canandaigua, was also sentenced to five years’ probation on her March 8, 2005, plea to second-degree grand larceny and unauthorized practice of a profession. Gersonia must also complete 300 hours of community service as part of her sentence.

According to the Felony Complaint filed in the case, Gersonia posed as a registered nurse and provided nursing services to patients at the Elm Manor Nursing Home, in Canandaigua, from June 11, 2002, to March 18, 2004, when, in fact, she was only a certified nurse aide. As part of her deception, Gersonia twice provided nursing home officials with altered documents, which falsely stated that she had been issued a Registered Professional Nurse license by the State of New York. As a result of these misrepresentations, Elm Manor paid Gersonia $61,791 to which she was not entitled.

The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s investigation of Gersonia did not uncover any evidence that patients were harmed as a result of the defendant’s deception.

Spitzer thanked the Elm Manor Nursing Home, located at 196 North Main Street, for its cooperation in the investigation.

Special Assistant Attorney General Timothy McFarland prosecuted the case. Senior Special Investigator William Falk and Supervising Special Investigator Neil Davis assisted in the investigation.