Autum Bardisa: Florida Woman Arrested for Posing as a Nurse, Treating Over 4,000 Patients Without a License
A woman in Florida is accused of pretending to be a registered nurse for over a year.
According to police reports, she treated thousands of unsuspecting patients without a license.
On February 6, 2025, 29-year-old Autumn Bardisa was arrested for working at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway Hospital without a valid nursing license since July 2023.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office says she treated 4,486 patients before she was arrested.
Bardisa was first hired as a nurse technician, a position that required supervision from a licensed nurse.
She later claimed she had passed her national nursing exam and gave the hospital a fake license number that actually belonged to another nurse with the same first name.
When the hospital noticed the name discrepancy, Bardisa allegedly told hospital staff she had recently gotten married and changed her last name.
However, she never provided a marriage certificate to confirm her story.
Her deception was exposed in January 2025 when she was up for a promotion.
As a result of this, a coworker checked her credentials, only to find she had an expired certified nursing assistant (CNA) license.
She was fired on January 22, and the hospital quickly reported her to authorities, leading to an investigation.
Sheriff Rick Staly called the case "one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated."
He added, "This woman potentially put thousands of lives at risk by pretending to be someone she was not and violating the trust of patients."
Bardisa now faces seven counts of practicing healthcare without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification.
She is being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $70,000 bond.
Investigators also found out that during her time as a fake nurse, Bardisa illegally administered medications, including prescription drugs like Ozempic (semaglutide).
They say she even sold prescription drugs to a coworker, and also gave a birth control injection to another employee without proper authorization or a valid license.
The real nurse whose license was stolen said she went to the same school as Bardisa but never knew her personally and never gave her permission to use her credentials.
According to CBS News, this case follows other recent incidents of nurse impersonation, including:
- A Pennsylvania nurse arrested in July 2024 for using 20 aliases and stolen credentials
- A California woman in November 2024 who posed as a registered nurse in Burbank
Authorities are urging hospitals and healthcare facilities to strengthen verification processes to prevent similar fraud.
As of now, Bardisa’s next court date has not been scheduled, and it’s unclear if she has legal representation.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Florida Department of Health, and the State Attorney’s Office are all involved in the ongoing investigation.
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