A 29-year-old woman, Autumn Bardisa, has been arrested in Florida for allegedly impersonating a registered nurse and treating thousands of patients without a valid license.
Authorities said Bardisa was employed at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway in Palm Coast from July 2023 until January 2025, during which time she is believed to have provided medical care to 4,486 patients.
Her arrest follows a seven-month investigation launched after discrepancies were discovered in her employment records.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Bardisa is accused of submitting falsified documents, including a license number belonging to a legitimate nurse with the same first name who worked at a different AdventHealth facility.
When questioned, Bardisa claimed she had recently married and changed her surname, but failed to provide a marriage license when asked.
Hospital officials reportedly became suspicious after offering Bardisa a promotion in January 2025.
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A co-worker, noticing that her nursing assistant license had expired, alerted the authorities. Her contract was terminated shortly after.
“This is one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we’ve ever investigated,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement. “This woman potentially put thousands of lives at risk by pretending to be someone she was not and violating the trust of patients, their families, AdventHealth, and an entire medical community.”
Bardisa was arrested at her residence on August 5 while still wearing scrubs. She now faces seven felony counts of practicing a health care profession 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.