Full Breakdown
Ohio Woman Charged with Posing as Nurse and Physical Therapist
9/1/2026, 12:32:10 AM
Alleged Credential Fraud at Two Perkins Township Facilities
Amanda Maynard Murphy, a 36-year-old resident of Sandusky, Ohio, is accused of working as a registered nurse and a physical therapist at Parkvue and NOMS Healthcare in Perkins Township despite lacking any valid licenses for either profession. Investigators say Murphy used the physical-therapy license number of another woman named Amanda Maynard and the Social Security number of a different woman from North Carolina to pass the background checks required for both positions. Complaints about her physical-therapy practices first emerged in December 2023, prompting a review that eventually led to her arrest in Tennessee and transfer back to Erie County, Ohio.
Law-Enforcement Findings
Perkins Township Police Detective Joseph Rotuno explained that a search warrant executed at the two facilities uncovered badges and other items linking Murphy to additional nursing locations. The indictment filed in January 2025 includes felony counts of identity fraud, grand theft and possession of criminal tools. Rotuno noted that Murphy had been evading service of the indictment for several months while reportedly hiding in Tennessee.
Official Response
Detective Rotuno said the case has sparked a broader conversation about hiring practices at healthcare providers, emphasizing that the background-screening process “should have been flawed” to allow an unlicensed individual to obtain patient-care roles. He stressed that the combination of nursing duties—access to medications and controlled substances—and physical-therapy responsibilities—handling patient records—should not have been possible under proper safeguards.
Verbatim Quotes
- “It's kind of scary to me that she was able to do this as an RN (registered nurse) for quite a while,” — Police Detective Joseph Rotuno
- “As an RN being around medications, controlled substances, and then a physical therapist being around patients and patient records, this should not have been able to happen” — Police Detective Joseph Rotuno
- “Some of the processes and some of the techniques that she was doing just did not seem proper,” — Police Detective Joseph Rotuno
- “We found stuff that tied her into a lot of these other nursing facilities. We found badges from facilities and things of that nature,” — Police Detective Joseph Rotuno
Upcoming Legal Proceedings
Murphy remains in custody in Erie County and is slated for a pre-trial hearing in early September. Authorities have indicated that the case will continue to inform reviews of credential-verification procedures at regional healthcare facilities.
