Las Cruces, New Mexico — A grand jury in Doña Ana County has indicted a woman accused of working as a nurse at four New Mexico care facilities without ever holding a license. The charges run 34 counts deep, and if she’s convicted on all of them, she could face up to 100 years in prison.
The defendant, Margarita Gonzalez, faces charges that include identity theft, nursing without a license, abuse of a resident, distribution of controlled substances to a minor, and fraud topping $25,000. The indictment came after an investigation by New Mexico’s Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Bureau, part of the state Department of Justice.
Investigators say Gonzalez worked at four facilities that hired and then fired her: Village at Northrise, Las Cruces Wellness and Rehabilitation, Peak Behavioral Health, and Matrix Home Care. Each one terminated her over safety concerns, citing what investigators described as questionable methods and a striking lack of clinical knowledge.
The near-miss that almost ended in tragedy
The most chilling detail in the case file isn’t a charge. It’s a near miss.
Gonzalez nearly gave a patient the wrong insulin dose, an error the state says could have caused serious injury or death. The mistake didn’t reach the patient because her orienting nurse — the licensed RN responsible for supervising new hires — caught it in time.
State investigators also allege she dispensed narcotics to eight juvenile inpatient residents during her time on the job. None of the allegations have been proven in court, and Gonzalez is presumed innocent unless and until she’s convicted.
A pattern that crossed state lines
This wasn’t her first attempt to land a nursing job. Texas issued an imposter alert in February 2025 after Gonzalez allegedly tried to secure RN positions at two El Paso facilities, Mountain View Nursing and Rehabilitation and AVIR at Patriot. According to industry reports, she submitted license numbers and names that belonged to nurses with similar names but didn’t match her own.
Both Texas facilities flagged the discrepancy during credentialing. The El Paso cases were referred to the local district attorney and the Las Cruces 3rd Judicial District Court for prosecution.
“Impersonating a healthcare provider is a reckless and selfish crime that subjects those most vulnerable to risk of serious injury or death,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in announcing the indictment.
What it means for operators
The case adds to a growing list of state-level fraud prosecutions tied to elder care, where attorneys general have started moving aggressively against bad actors who slip through the hiring process. For long-term care operators dealing with chronic staffing shortages, the takeaway is uncomfortable but clear: credentialing failures don’t just create liability. They put residents in real, immediate danger.
Texas caught Gonzalez during pre-hire verification. New Mexico caught her on the floor — too late for the eight juveniles she’s accused of dosing, but in time for the patient who came within an insulin shot of disaster.
