ADOT detectives nab woman with revoked nursing license for ID fraud

PHOENIX – Arizona Department of Transportation detectives have arrested a Chandler resident whose nursing license was revoked for insurance fraud after she allegedly used a stolen identity to try and obtain a new nursing license.

Laura Lynn Bell, 40, used a falsified Arizona driver license and a Superior Court name change form to petition her alma mater, the University of South Alabama, to change the name on her official transcripts to another person’s name in an attempt to get a new nursing license.

The university became suspicious of Bell’s request and contacted the Arizona State Board of Nursing, which in turn contacted the Arizona Department of Insurance, which brought the original insurance fraud case against her. Those agencies requested assistance from ADOT’s Office of Inspector General since a forged credential was involved.

When ADOT detectives served a warrant at Bell’s home on Dec. 12, they found forged court documents and other papers listing the other individual’s name. They also obtained a forged driver license created on Bell’s computer.

Bell was arrested and booked at the Fourth Avenue Jail on new counts of forgery and identity fraud in addition to the insurance fraud case previously brought against her.