Cobb County

Woman denied bond after being accused of ‘masquerading’ as a nurse in 8 states

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A woman who has been accused of working as a nurse in eight different states without a license will remain in the Cobb County Jail.

Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell was in the courtroom on Tuesday afternoon when a judge denied bail for Corissa Laws.

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Laws is charged with stealing the identity of a Florida nurse and using that woman’s nursing license to care for several people with developmental disabilities.

She also has an active warrant for her arrest in Vermont and has pending charges in Orlando, Florida.

Channel 2 Action News first told you about Laws when she was arrested last month.

Laws’ defense attorney argued that she should have been granted bond because she is only facing one felony charge.

“She’s charged with one felony. Practicing without a license in Georgia is a misdemeanor, which must have a bond. The one felony, aggravated identity, alleges she committed this one time,” the attorney told the judge.

She was employed as a licensed nurse with Walton Community Services where she was tasked with working with eight people in a Cobb County home who needed care around the clock from a licensed nurse.

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“I can’t think of anything more dangerous than someone masquerading as a nurse from state to state to state,” the prosecutor argued.

The prosecutor added that she admitted to practicing as a nurse in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Florida and New Mexico in addition to working in Georgia.

Laws’ attorney says the real focus should be on his client’s employer.

“There is an investigation into Walton Community Services for them committing fraud and sending nurses out to practice nursing without a license,” he said.

Newell reached out to Walton Community Services for a comment several times, but did not hear back.

The nurse Laws is accused of impersonating told Newell that she does not want to comment publicly, but says she is glad Laws is behind bars.

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