A Forsyth County judge Thursday required a $24,000 cash-only bond for a woman accused of practicing nursing without a license at a Cumming hospice.
Taiwo Bolatito Sobamowo, who also once worked at a Gwinnett County hospice that cared for Bobbi Kristina Brown before the daughter of the late singer Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown died in July, also must post a $2,420 bond on first-degree forgery and identity fraud charges in Forsyth County, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Sobamowo remained jailed in Forsyth County after Thursday’s hearing as details of her alleged schemes to practice nursing without a license continued to emerge.
The Associated Press reported that in October 2013, the District of Columbia Board of Nursing issued a warning that said Sobamowo used somebody else’s license number to get a job as a registered nurse at a hospice facility in Washington. A background check revealed convictions in Minnesota and a warrant for her arrest.
A criminal background check of Sobamowo in August 2013 for a job in metro Washinton D.C. revealed an outstanding bench warrant for an arrest in Minnesota, the DC Department of Health told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The department said Sobamowo was using a license on her employment application that belonged to a male. In October 2013, an email was sent to the nursing community and Sobamowo was placed in the Falsified Identity Tracking System, which is a private tool for member boards to stay abreast of developments in the nursing profession.
In Forsyth County, the investigation “identified that Sobamowo was working as a registered nurse with a Georgia health-care facility. Sobamowo had provided fraudulent credentials under a different name to gain employment,” the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said.
North Carolina authorities arrested Sobamowo on Sunday in Raleigh, acting on warrants from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. She was brought back to Forsyth County on Thursday morning, sheriff's Deputy Epifanio Rodriguez said.
Sobamowo also faces charges in Duluth in Gwinnett County, where she worked at Peachtree Christian Hospice at the time the facility was caring for Bobbi Kristina Brown. A police report obtained by the AP, however, showed no indication that Brown's care was affected by Sobamowo.
Investigators are not sure exactly what contact Sobamowo had with Brown, who was initially hospitalized Jan. 31 and brought to the hospice facility in June. Brown died July 26 at age 22.
Despite an alert about Sobamowo’s alleged impersonations in the database maintained by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, she continued to find jobs.
Homestead Hospice and Palliative Care, which provides contract nurses for Peachtree Christian Hospice, said it conducted a background check on Sobamowo and had no reason to believe that Sobamowo was anything other than a good nurse with proper credentials,
Sobamowo was hired September 2014 and fired Aug. 5, when she couldn’t provide proof of a license, according to the Georgia Board of Nursing. Homestead Hospice said it notified the authorities when discrepancies emerged.
Sobamowo also could face identity fraud and forgery charges in Roswell, where her employer is based, police said.
Please return to ajc.com for updates
Staff writer Jennifer Brett contributed to this report.
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