Jesse Jones: Local nurse scammed out of thousands

For Nurse Practitioner Tera Johnson, it was the most terrifying of calls.

She says a man called her saying, “We have to contact you to notify you that we have suspended your license, and you can no longer practice medicine.”

She worked her whole life to get her dream job. But out of nowhere - Johnson was told that federal agents wanted answers, putting her license and livelihood at risk.

She says the words still bring shock, “You’re currently under investigation from the FBI for drug smuggling and money laundering.”

But the callers weren’t cops - it was all a long con, lasting more than two months.

The conmen said a car was found in Texas filled with prescription drugs in her name.

“There was also illegal drugs, something worth like $4.2 million or something like that,” said Johnson.

They then sent a threatening letter with the Department of Justice letterhead. It had Johnson’s correct license and national practitioner numbers - and told her that to stay out of jail, she must pay $17,160 for a bond - without telling a soul about the investigation.

“I’m terrified. I’m like, my heart’s racing. I’m like full-blown, like panic mode here,” Johnson says.

Johnson’s not alone. According to Washington’s Board of Nursing (WABON), nurses from coast to coast have been victimized by this scam.

We asked Catherine Woodard, the Director of Discipline with WABON, how they got her licensing information.

Woodard replied, “It doesn’t surprise me that they can get the information about addresses and phone numbers, which the Department of Health does not release. But on our public facing provider credential search, you can find the credential number of every licensed health care professional in the state of Washington.”

During the scam, Johnson says the scammers kept her on a short leash, “Every morning at 6 a.m. my time, I had a text message from them. Good morning, Miss Johnson. And I would have to reply, let them know I was on my way to work. They had to know where I was at all times kind of thing.”

We asked Special Agent Ethan Via from the FBI about Johnson’s case. He says the scammers have their act honed well, “They identify targets. And honestly, it’s very much like a, you know, a mass marketing job or a sales job where you are just dialing the phone all day long until someone picks up or someone clicks on the email that you sent.”

Via says he’s not surprised the scam went on for months, running through multiple people, “They’re all sitting in a room together, and they all have scripts, and they know their parts, and they play it to perfection. And so they just play the victim off of each role until they get as much money as they can out of them. They run it dry. "

By the time it ended, Johnson had sent another $15,840. After the scammers promised to clear her name and return the fake bond, they disappeared.

Johnson says she’s speaking out because she doesn’t want this to happen to anyone else. Because she believes thieves thrive in silence, “I would say, never let anybody scare you into thinking that you can’t tell your closest support person, right?”

©2024 Cox Media Group