Phony nurse from Clinton admits faking diplomas, transcripts, tests

A 23-year-old Clinton woman entered guilty pleas to charges related to using fake diplomas and transcripts and altering her test results to get a nursing license.

Alecia Danielle Grimes appeared in 2nd District Court on Monday before Judge Michael Allphin. She pleaded guilty to four counts of forgery, third-degree felonies; and two counts of unlawful occupational or professional conduct, one count a third-degree felony and one count a class A misdemeanor.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 6.

The state Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing learned of the deception shortly after Grimes was hired to work as a nurse with Hillcrest Care Center in Sandy, said Deputy Davis County Attorney Nathan Lyon.

The care center did a background check on Grimes and learned she had entered a plea in abeyance to a third-degree felony issuing a bad check in 2nd District Court on April 22.

According to a DOPL citation document, Grimes had applied for a nursing license in Utah but was denied due to the felony charge.

DOPL did an investigation and found that she had received a “temporary permit through Wisconsin fraudulently” by claiming she had a degree from San Diego City College, according to the DOPL citation.

Lyon said Grimes had gone to a website called “nextdaydiploma.com” and ordered a fake diploma and fake transcript to show she had graduated from nursing.

According to the DOPL document, Grimes had never attended the California college. But she used the documents to take the state nursing test. She failed the state test and then changed the grade and date on the documents to get a temporary license as a licensed practical nurse, according to the court charging document.

She had worked at the care center for a few days before the deception was discovered.

This article originally appeared on standard