Image: Autumn Bardisa; Aug. 5, 2025 / Flagler County Sheriff

A 29-year-old Florida woman posed as a registered nurse for seven months and treated 4,486 patients in Flagler County before finally getting arrested on Tuesday. (See video below, posted by the New York Post.)

Autumn Bardisa, who was already working at AdventHealth as an "advanced nurse tech," had allegedly stolen the identity of a colleague — a registered nurse whose name was also Autumn — to apply for the position in 2024. When questioned about her last name, which had suddenly "changed," she claimed she had just gotten married. AdventHealth did ask to see her marriage license, but never followed through when the license never materialized.

It wasn't until the healthcare corporation actually gave her a promotion in January, 2025 that a suspicious colleague decided to check her status.

"This is one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated," said Sheriff Rick Staly, via the Flagler County Sheriff's Office post on Facebook. "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."

From NBC News:

When she applied, she allegedly claimed she was an "education first" registered nurse, which meant she had passed the required schooling to become a registered nurse but had not yet passed the national exam for her license.

During the hiring process, Bardisa told the hospital she had passed the exam and provided a license number that matched her first name, Autumn, but with a different last name, the sheriff's office said. …

The name and license number she provided, however, belonged to another nurse, also with the first name Autumn, who AdventHealth employed at a different hospital, the sheriff's office said. …

The two had attended the same college, but the Autumn whose identity was stolen said they did not personally know each other, the sheriff's office said. That Autumn said AdventHealth told her about the alleged fraud in January.

Bardisa was arrested at her home, charged with "seven counts of practicing a health care profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information," according to a statement by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. Why AdventHealth allowed her to work as an RN without proof of identity is just another one of life's mysteries.

Previously: Thousands bought bogus diplomas and fake transcripts from Florida nursing school owners and employees

• Scotsman dual-wielded live seagulls in assault

  Police in Oban, Scotland, charged a man with assault after he allegedly grabbed two live seagulls and attacked someone in the street outside the railway station there. The incident took… READ THE REST

• Killer dies of heart attack while disposing of victim's body

  A Georgia man killed a woman then died while trying to dispose of her remains in the Alabama woods. The bodies of Daniel Robbins, 44, and Jessica Folds, 47, were… READ THE REST

• Supreme Court rejects Trump appeal of sexual assault verdict

  The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear President Trump's appeal against a $5 million judgment after he was found liable for sexually abusing the writer E. Jean Carroll. None… READ THE REST

• Stop PDF headaches — convert, merge, and edit files in minutes with AcePDF for a one-time $24

  Disclosure: Boing Boing earns a commission on purchases made through links in this post.   TL;DR: Convert, edit, and unlock PDFs into Word, Excel, and more with AcePDF Converter & Editor… READ THE REST

• Turn your ideas into full-length books—Get a lifetime subscription on sale for $119

  Disclosure: Boing Boing earns a commission on purchases made through links in this post.   TL;DR: The Aivolut AI Book Creator can turn your notes and ideas into full books, and a lifetime… READ THE REST

• This permanent $55 Microsoft Office deal was made for people who want stability over subscriptions

  Disclosure: Boing Boing earns a commission on purchases made through links in this post.   TL;DR: Get lifetime access to Microsoft Office 2024 Pro Plus for Windows for $54.99 (MSRP $249.99)… READ THE REST