The Clay County widow wants to know why no one was arrested after her husband's death. She learns that the nurse hired to take care of him is not actually a nurse.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida families are seeking answers after discovering a carer for a loved one who claimed to be a licensed practical nurse (LPN).
Retired US Marine Gunnery Sgt. Kensworth Moody, who needed 24-hour care, received a feeding tube and a tracheostomy, passed away in October 2024 at his Fleming Island home. State records show that the con man failed to act when Moody showed signs of difficulty breathing.
Moody's daughter, Kendra Moody, says she woke up to the loud music that came from her father's room on the morning of October 13th, 2024.
“Before I came here, I looked at the camera in his room and saw the nurse. He looked at his pulse cow machine with a confused look on his face,” Kendra Moody said. I did. “When I got down here I touched my dad and he was cold and frozen.”
She says surveillance videos she later reviewed showed her father began to struggle with breathing and stopped responding two hours ago.
“He was breathless in search of air, so you can hear the Pulse Ox machine leaving with caution,” Kendra Moody said. “And then, you don't hear it disappear anymore, and you can't see his chest rising or falling, and he just didn't respond.”
She says the man who claims to be a nurse will never be called 911.
“I did it,” Kendra Moody said. “He didn't do anything at all.”
By the time the paramedics arrived it was too late. Her father was declared dead.
“To set foot in the house and pretend you're a nurse looking after the sick. What do you think will happen?” Kendra Moody said.
Sandra Moody, a registered nurse wife and veteran wife, says the man hired to provide nursing was at home more than dozens of times and worked for the Bright Star Care franchise in Jacksonville. She knew after her husband's death that the “nurse” was not the person he claimed.
“I knew how he reacted in the room,” Sandra Moody said. “Something came to me that he wasn't a nurse. And above all, after my husband was taken out of the house, I started looking into him on Facebook. He didn't show up on Facebook. His name appeared on Facebook on the face of another person. When I found out, I felt that he had been invaded.”
A 60-page report from the Florida Department of Health Care, known as the AHCA, includes a text message from a nurse impersonator who sent Sandra Moody after her husband passed away. He said, “I'm Moody-san. I just wanted to show you that I have the ability… I've disappointed you. M Sorry, but I I failed for you.”
Records show that nurse impersonators who used the name of Dulles Wyggham, a licensed practical nurse, had two active patients. He followed the real nurse who used his name.
“It was actually quite shocking,” Whigham said. “It's scary for me as a nurse and perhaps for other nurses.”
Whigham says he's working temporarily for Brightstar Care and someone figures out from a detective pretending to be him.
“Individuals gave them my name and information that they were me and that they were licensed practical nurses,” Whigham said. “When I was working there they were explained that they were able to get it from the old files.”
Eleven days after the veteran's death, the AHCA issued an emergency suspension order for Bright Star Care in East Jacksonville/Neptune Beach, an independently owned and operated franchise.
According to that order, the fake nurse silenced oxygen saturation and administered “sugar water” when Moody's glucose levels fell. The report states that Moody's oxygen levels have dropped to 36%, well below the normal range of 94-100%.
The AHCA investigation revealed multiple issues with the BrightStar franchise.
According to the emergency suspension order, the customer coordinator had a warrant arrested for fraud, and the nursing director was facing criminal charges related to the shooting in Jacksonville. The order also states that the home health company has been scheduled and provided care to acute patients by unqualified, unauthorized individuals who misrepresented their identity.
We have contacted the head of the Brightstar franchise at Suresh Bandurangam. He hung up and didn't return our call.
A spokesman for the Brightstar Corporate Team says safety and client happiness are top priorities.
“We are aware of the investigation into independently owned and operated franchisees in Jacksonville, Florida, and are working with the Florida Healthcare Agency (AHCA) and other relevant authorities regarding the location of this franchise. We are already local to the local government. It exercises its right to terminate franchisees' franchisees' franchise agreements, and it is no longer part of the Bright Star Care system,” the company said in a statement.
In Florida, impersonating a nurse or knowingly hiring someone who is not licensed to practice nurses is a felony. The Clay County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that there is an aggressive investigation, but no arrests have been made. The agency declined to request an interview.
Sandra Moody says she was connected to Brightstar through the veteran issues. A VA spokesman says payments to the home healthcare company have been approved through the VA. The VA declined to interview, but said the franchise that runs the location is no longer part of the VA's community care network.
“VA does not provide recommendations to home healthcare providers. They use an online system to identify in-network providers near the veteran and ask if the veteran has a particular preference.” Brightstar was removed from the VA's Community Care Network on October 31, 2024 after the department was notified that Florida had suspended its organization's operating license.”
Moody's wonders if this fake nurse was in the home of another family member who was caring for a patient who still doesn't know he's not the person he claims.
“It needs to happen to veterans that never happens,” Sandra Moody said. “If I wasn't a nurse and wasn't smart enough to see this, we'd go and say, his health failed.”
They don't understand why no one has been arrested.
“I want justice for my husband's death because I know he was dependent on me on his voice.
If you have any news tips from the research team, please email hcrawford2@firstcoastnews.com.
