By Lorie Brown, RN, JD – EmpoweredNurses.org
Once, Scharmaine Lawson Baker was a beacon in our profession—a seasoned nurse practitioner, author, mentor. She wrote guides on patient-provider trust, taught about medical necessity, and inspired nurses to deliver house-call care with compassion.
But somewhere along the way, the code of ethics was traded for the currency of fraud.
The Scam Under the Lab Coat
Between 2018 and 2019, Baker worked remotely as an independent contractor for a telehealth outfit. Over calls shorter than lunch breaks—often less than 60 seconds—she signed hundreds of orders for genetic cancer tests. Patients she never met or physically examined were told they were receiving free cancer screenings.
In some jaw-dropping moments of dishonesty, she falsely diagnosed male patients with cervical cancer—something that truly should have triggered medical alarms, not Medicare alarms. She never reviewed test results, even when they revealed no actual cancer risk. She ordered tests purely to fuel claims—ventricles pumping falsehoods instead of care.
The Toll on Trust and Taxpayers
The scheme defrauded Medicare of more than $12.1 million. Labs got over $1.5 million in kickbacks. Baker accepted bribes she later hid in a bankruptcy petition. It was six counts of health care fraud, and the Justice Department delivered a verdict: guilty. Now, she faces sentencing scheduled for November 19, 2025, and up to 60 years behind bars—10 years per court.
Your Heart Knows It’s Wrong
As a nurse and an attorney, I feel the sharp edges of this betrayal. A trusted professional used her credentials to exploit the most vulnerable—to turn the oath of non-maleficence into a headline of greed.
It’s like a nurse giving IV fluids that are actually toxic—only here, the victims were taxpayers and patients who believed they were cared for.
Lessons for the Healing Field
Ethics must be our compass. A license is not just a paper—it’s a pact with patients, the profession, and society.
Telehealth demands vigilance. Brief phone calls cannot replace clinical judgment or physical assessment.
Watch for red flags: genetic tests ordered without evaluation, Medicare claims that spike unnaturally, providers with too many “free screening” promotions. · Whistleblowers save lives—sometimes from fraud, sometimes from ruin. The False Claims Act rewards them, and protects them from retaliation.
Healing the Profession
When a nurse practitioner falls into fraud, it feels like a punctured line—it leaks trust, morale, financial stewardship, and the very ethos of our profession.
But good nurses still pour compassion and skill into every IV, every wound care plan, every patient dignity preserved. We must let the few who falter motivate rigorous ethics training, stronger oversight, and stronger culture.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t just shameful—it’s heartbreaking. It shows how, under the white coat, the heart can sometimes be replaced by greed.
Yet, every day, good nurses quietly rebuild trust: holding hands, calling families, advocating for fair care. That is our true legacy.
May this story be a cautionary tale and a call to arms—let’s keep nursing noble, keep systems transparent, and keep every patient’s best interest at the center of our compass.
Nurses, I’d love to hear from you: Have you ever encountered fraud in practice? How do we teach ethical vigilance, especially in telehealth?
