A Doña Ana County grand jury has hit a Las Cruces woman with a 34-count indictment, accusing her of posing as a registered nurse at multiple care facilities and treating some of the region’s most vulnerable patients without a license, prosecutors said. Margarita Gonzalez is charged with identity theft, practicing nursing without a license, abuse of a resident, distribution of controlled substances to a minor, and fraud, after investigators say she administered injections and handed out prescribed medications while presenting herself as an RN. Authorities say the alleged scheme included an insulin dosing error caught by an orienting nurse and claim that narcotics were given to juvenile inpatients. If Gonzalez is convicted on all counts, those charges carry heavy penalties.
According to KFOX14, the indictment followed an investigation by the New Mexico Department of Justice's Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Bureau. Prosecutors say Gonzalez allegedly used the identities of nurses in Texas to get hired and was paid based on those fraudulent licenses, adding up to more than $25,000 in alleged fraud. Attorney General Raúl Torrez, in a statement from his office, called impersonating a healthcare provider “a reckless and selfish crime” that puts already fragile patients at risk of serious injury or death.
How Regulators Flagged Her
The case first landed on regulators’ radar in Texas after two El Paso facilities noticed something off in Gonzalez’s paperwork. During credentialing checks, staff spotted mismatched license information and alerted authorities, as reported by KVIA.
As detailed by the Texas Board of Nursing, regulators say Gonzalez used license numbers that actually belonged to other nurses and tried to work at Mountain View Nursing and AVIR at Patriot in El Paso before going on to provide direct patient care in Las Cruces. The board referred the matter to prosecutors in El Paso County and to the Third Judicial District in New Mexico, helping set the stage for the grand jury indictment.
Where She Worked And The Risk
Investigators say Gonzalez ultimately worked at Village at Northrise, Las Cruces Wellness and Rehabilitation, Peak Behavioral Health, and Matrix Home Care, and that several employers cut her loose over safety concerns. According to KFOX14, the probe found she nearly gave a patient the wrong insulin dose, an error that could have caused serious injury or death, and that she dispensed narcotics to eight juvenile inpatient residents. Officials stress that the insulin mistake was caught before the medication ever reached the patient.
A Wider Pattern Of Imposter Cases
Regulators and prosecutors say the Gonzalez case is part of a troubling pattern of alleged imposter nurses slipping into patient-care roles. The New Mexico Department of Justice pursued a similar prosecution in August 2025 involving another alleged impostor who nearly caused a fatal morphine overdose, NMDOJ reported. Advocates argue that cases like these spotlight weak points in hiring practices and license verification that can leave nursing-home and hospice patients exposed.
What’s Next
The indictment now sends Gonzalez’s case into Doña Ana County court, where prosecutors can move to secure her arrest and arraignment under state procedure. If she is convicted on all charges, prosecutors say Gonzalez could be staring at decades in prison, with the New Mexico Department of Justice estimating total penalties at up to 100 years. State agencies in both New Mexico and Texas say they are reviewing how they verify credentials and are urging healthcare facilities to double-check licenses for new hires before anyone gets near a medication cart.
