Ontario Woman Facing 19 Charges for Allegedly Faking Nursing Credentials

Ontario Woman Facing 19 Charges for Allegedly Faking Nursing Credentials
A file photo of an Ontario Provincial Police logo. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Jennifer Cowan
Updated:

An Ontario woman is facing 19 identity fraud charges for allegedly presenting herself as a registered nurse at several Simcoe County health care facilities, despite lacking the necessary qualifications.

Hailey Roberts, resident of the township of Tiny, north of Barrie, was employed as a nurse from September 2020 to April 2024, performing a wide range of nursing duties in a number of health-care facilities, including long-term care homes, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said in a Nov. 1 press release.

“To obtain employment, the individual falsified employment applications, certificates, resumes, reference checks and police checks by modifying the name to resemble active nurses with good standings,” Huronia West OPP said.

The 33-year-old turned herself into the OPP Huronia West Detachment on Oct. 24.

Roberts faces 16 identity theft charges, including five counts of identity fraud. She also faces three counts of assault with a weapon.

The accused was held for a bail hearing that will take place at the Ontario Court of Justice in Barrie, police said.

Nursing Fraud Cases

This is not the first time police in Ontario have laid charges in connection with someone posing as a nurse without credentials.
Brigitte Cleroux, 52, is currently serving a seven-year sentence in an Ontario prison for posing as a nurse at two Ottawa health clinics in the summer of 2021.

She has also been accused of posing as a nurse in Colorado, Alberta, and British Columbia.

She pleaded guilty in July to assaulting victims with an intravenous needle in Vancouver and Victoria where it is thought she treated as many as 1,000 patients. She is set to be sentenced this fall.

In total, Cleroux has racked up at least 67 criminal convictions.

Another woman posing as a nurse in B.C. was charged last year for allegedly using phony documents to apply for a nursing job in Victoria.

Charrybelle Talaue, 34, was charged with several counts of forgery and impersonation after she allegedly applied for work at a number of health-care jobs in B.C. and Alberta under a variety of aliases, Central Saanich Police Service said in a press release.
The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives issued a public advisory last fall to clarify that Ms. Talaue had never been a registered nurse.