THOUSAND OAKS : Man Gets 60 Days for Masquerading as RN
A judge sentenced a Calabasas man Thursday to 60 days in jail and five years of probation for masquerading as a registered nurse at Los Robles Medical Center.
Michael E. Wilkins, 35, admitted to forging a registered nurse’s license to secure a job at the Thousand Oaks hospital, where he worked from 1990 to 1993. He pleaded guilty to one count of practicing nursing without a license and one count of grand theft, both felonies.
Hospital officials said Wilkins, who was a licensed vocational nurse, was guilty of grand theft because he was paid at a registered nurse’s rate. He was ordered to repay the hospital $10,000.
Wilkins borrowed a friend’s RN license and forged his name onto it. His scheme was uncovered when hospital administrators reviewed employees’ licenses.
Wilkins said he possessed the education to perform as a registered nurse but did not take the tests necessary to obtain a license.
That argument did not impress Superior Court Judge James Cloninger.
“It is clear that Michael Wilkins took . . . the dishonest road,” he said in rejecting a probation report that suggested Wilkins be sentenced to 30 days in jail.
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