Fake nurse stole medicine across multiple states using 20 aliases, PA cops say

Mike Stunson, Miami Herald on Jul 22, 2025

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A woman accused of impersonating a nurse to obtain prescription medications had a warrant for her arrest in four states, according to Pennsylvania authorities and news reports.

Shannon Womack was pulled over during a routine stop in Washington County in April and gave troopers improper identification, state police said in a July 21 news release.

The name she gave was one of 20 different aliases associated with the 39-year-old woman, according to police.

Troopers said Womack had multiple warrants in Georgia, New Jersey, Indiana and Tennessee for charges of fraud and impersonating a nurse, according to WPXI. She also pretended to be a nurse in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, police said, but was not licensed in any of the states.

She is listed as a “nursing imposter” by the Georgia Board of Nursing. The board said Womack never applied for a nursing license despite allegations of her working as a nurse.

In Pennsylvania, Womack fraudulently worked as a Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered Nurse or RN Supervisor nurse in nine rehabilitation and nursing home facilities in Allegheny, Erie, Washington, Bradford, Beaver and Westmoreland counties, TribLive.com reported.

She is accused of working up to 10 shifts at the health care facilities and was put on a “Do Not Retain” list at each of them for misconduct, according to WPXI.

“Womack was able to secure these nursing positions through staffing agencies by submitting fraudulently signed documents and also by creating a false LLC to self-deploy herself to multiple states,” according to state police, which said she had seven different Social Security numbers associated to her name.

Trooper Rocco Gagliardi said Womack pretended to be her own secretary when she answered phone calls before continuing the calls using her nursing identity, WPXI reported.

According to the station, aliases she is accused of using include “Angel Renee Kelly, Shannon Nicole Lawson, Shannon Nicole Parham, Shannon Nicole Abiola, Shannon Nicole Armstrong, Shannon Abiola-Parham, Shannon Nicole Womack, Shannon Nicole Lethes, Shannon Nicole Robinson and Shannon Lee Lawson.”

Police said Womack failed to properly administer medications at many of the facilities, stealing them for her own benefit, according to TribLive.

“This is a vile act or acts, I should say, not only taking advantage of older citizens in this commonwealth but them not receiving the care that they need nor the medication they need because of someone that puts themself in this position to defraud them,” Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said in a news briefing, according to WTAE.

When troopers executed a search warrant on her vehicle, they found other people’s prescribed medications, multiple forms of identification and medical equipment, state police said.

Her behavior is believed to have started during during a nationwide nursing shortage in 2020.

“During that COVID time, they got hit hard and they needed help,” Gagliardi told WTAE. “So, it wasn’t uncommon for these different residents, locations, agencies to reach out to host agencies and say, we need some extra shifts filled. That started in 2020, and it was such an easy transition, she just kept going after that.”

Womack’s charges include corrupt organizations, endangering the welfare of care, unlawful use of a computer, identity theft, forgery and theft of unlawful taking.