Nurse’s NC license suspended after charges she defrauded Medicaid
A Raleigh nurse’s North Carolina license was suspended this month after the filing of fraud and larceny charges related to Medicaid fraud in another state.
Karen L. Wurst, 71, was charged with health insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit health insurance fraud, first degree larceny, identity theft and 18 counts of violation of licensing requirements in the state of Connecticut, among other charges, in December.
Wurst ran a nurse staffing agency, NurseSpan LLC, that operated in West Hartford, Connecticut. She and another woman charged, 48-year-old Suzean Langan of Manchester, Connecticut, conspired to misrepresent nursing qualifications and illegally charge Medicaid for nursing services, according to a news release from the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.
Wurst is accused of using the nursing identification number of another nurse without her permission to fabricate the credentials of Langan, who has never attended nursing school. Wurst sent Langan to 18 facilities between June 2022 and March 2023 to perform nursing tasks including “medicine administration and care for medically complex and fragile individuals,” the release said. In one instance, Langan performed a medical procedure involving a stomach tube that caused a patient to suffer severe complications including choking, vomiting, loss of consciousness and aspiration pneumonia.
Wurst then billed the facilities more than $133,000 for Medicaid-qualified services, according to the Division of Criminal Justice
Wurst lied on a January application to renew her North Carolina Multistate Registered Nurse License by denying any pending criminal charges, according to a May 18 order from the North Carolina Board of Nursing. Wurst could not be reached for comment.
Wurst’s temporary license suspension will continue until the board’s investigation is complete, the order stated.
Wurst was originally licensed in 2014.