Arizona woman gets prison sentence for impersonating nurse practitioner

PHOENIX – An Arizona woman who pretended to be a nurse practitioner, and even wrote prescriptions, was sentenced to five years in state prison, authorities said.

Pamela O’Guinn, 58, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count each of fraudulent schemes and artifices, taking the identity of another, and forgery.

Her sentence, which was handed down Friday, includes three years of supervised probation after her release from prison.

O’Guinn was initially indicted on 36 charges in March 2021.

She practiced medicine as “Dr. Pamela Robinson DNP PSYD” but wasn’t licensed to nurse anywhere in the U.S., the Arizona Attorney General’s Office said.

Prosecutors say she falsely claimed to be a nurse practitioner and wrote prescriptions for controlled substances using a stolen identity.

The Arizona State Board of Nursing opened an investigation after receiving a complaint that O’Guinn claimed to be “Dr. Pamela Anderson” during a child custody hearing and had provided mental health services to a party involved in the case.

The board referred the investigation to the Attorney General’s Office after finding no record of “Dr. Pamela Robinson.”

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