State police seek public’s help in nurse case
State police are asking health-care providers throughout Pennsylvania to review their records to see if they ever employed a woman accused of using stolen identities to work shifts as a registered nurse.
Earlier this week police charged 39-year-old Shannon Nicole Womack, of Pittsburgh, with several felonies for working at multiple facilities despite not being a licensed professional. She is suspected of using the nursing certifications of at least four different nurses from southern states.
Womack is accused of working six shifts at Greenery Center for Rehab and Nursing in North Strabane Township last October, and one shift at Southmont of Presbyterian SeniorCare in Washington.
Charging documents state she also worked at health-care facilities in Allegheny, Beaver, Bradford, Westmoreland and Erie counties.
Womack was allegedly employed at the facilities through staffing agencies, including a fake agency she created herself, police said.
According to investigators, she used several aliases in Pennsylvania: Shannon Nicole Parham, Shannon Nicole Abiola, Shannon Nicole Armstrong, Shannon Abiola-Parham, Shannon Nicole Grimes, Shannon Nicole Womack, Shannon Nicole Lawson, Shannon Nicole Lethco, Shannon Nicole Robinson and Shannon Lee Lawson.
Police said she posed as a licensed practical nurse, registered nurse and registered nurse supervisor.
State police spokesperson Rocco Gagliardi said the investigation into Womack is ongoing.
“This entire operation is very far from over. It literally just began,” Gagliardi said.
Investigators learned there were arrest warrants issued for Womack for similar activity in Georgia, Tennessee, New Jersey and Indiana.
According to Gagliardi, police are not aware of any other facilities in Pennsylvania that were part of Womack’s alleged fraud.
“We want to have one nice at bat at this. We’re just doing a check of the entire state to make sure everything is accounted for,” Gagliardi said.
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh declined to comment on state police’s plea for additional information beyond saying that it is “a continuing investigation.”
According to Gagliardi, it is possible that state police in Washington would file additional charges if any new allegations come to light.
Womack was initially arrested following an April 5 traffic stop on Interstate 79 in Cecil Township, where she was pulled over for failing to signal.
She is accused of providing police with false identities, and a search of her car turned up multiple forms of identification, medical documents and prescription medication from different health-care facilities, charging documents state.
Police initially charged Womack following the stop with providing false identification to law enforcement.
This week she received new felony charges of corrupt organizations, endangering the welfare of a care-dependent person, unlawful use of a computer and forgery, as well as misdemeanor charges of identity theft and falsely pretending to hold notary public office.
Gagliardi said they are working with Pennsylvania’s Department of Health and Department of State, as well as the district attorneys of multiple counties, in the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call state police at 724-223-5200.
Womack is currently incarcerated in the Washington County jail.