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‘Nurse of the Year’ not a nurse
A Connecticut woman spent more than $2,000 to stage a dinner honoring her as "Nurse of the Year." Police report the woman is not and has never been registered as a nurse.
Betty Liechtenstein, 56, was charged with reckless endangerment and criminal impersonation yesterday. Staff at Dr. Weiss’s clinic reported that Liechtenstein seemed to be competent at work. While working, she was responsible for handling injections and giving medical advice to patients.
In the affidavit, it states that in November 2008 she received the 2008 Nurse of the Year award from the Connecticut Nursing Association. According to the warrant, this association does not exist.
The doctor’s office had even received a letter with the letterhead of the ‘Connecticut Nursing Association." The letter stated that a special dinner was being held to honor Betty Liechtenstein and she would receive a $10,000 award and an additional $10,000 for the charity of her choice.
The dinner was held November 30 at the Norwalk Inn and the doctor Betty worked for was the guest speaker. The bill for the dinner was $3,211.11 and sent to the Connecticut Nursing Association in care of Lichtenstein’s employer’s office. She wrote a check for $2,000 for the event that approximately 40 people attended.
After a complaint by a patient about Lichtenstein, the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit began investigating. The unit quickly figured out that Nurse Betty really wasn’t a nurse. She was arrested and could face up to five years in prison if convicted of both charges.
