Application fraud slips through cracks in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, nursing applications have been pouring in, with up to 10,000 submitted in a year. But only three applications total have been denied in each of the last two years, and according to a September 20 report published in the Boston Globe, more than a dozen of the accepted applications have been discovered to be fraudulent.

The Globe reports that the state nursing board has uncovered a pattern of applicants falsely claiming to have nursing licenses in other states.

For example, four applicants from the state of Hawaii claimed to have nursing licenses from the state, and provided a form signed by Kathleen Yokouchi, an officer of the Hawaii nursing board, to prove it.

But Yokouchi, according to the report, retired five years ago. A similar story occurred with another six applicants pretending to have Alabama or Oklahoma nursing licenses. They too filed a form signed by an incorrect name for an official on their forms.

According to the report, the state is reviewing whether to continue working with Professional Credential Services of Nashville, which vets license applications for nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, among other occupational licensing professions.  

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