A woman accused of impersonating a nurse to scam retirement homes in southwestern Ontario did not plead guilty as expected in a Kitchener court Friday.
Her lawyer says that's now on hold, because she's accused of additional similar crimes in London, Ont.
Defence attorney Hal Mattson says they were hoping to have all the charges dealt with in Kitchener, but now it looks like that won't happen.
"The London and Kitchener Crowns want the matter dealt with in their juristictions, so it looks like she's going to have to be sentenced in two places," he says.
Eva Donna Okello, 34, is accused of providing care to seniors without qualifications and a number of other charges.
Her common law partner, 28-year-old Paul Matthew, has already been convicted of fraud in connection with the case.
During Matthew's sentencing, a judge called the actions of the two "brazen," but Matthew's lawyer painted Okello as the ringleader.
Okello was arrested after an official at Lanark Heights long-term care facility in Kitchener learned of a similar incident at a retirement home in Mitchell.
She has previously been charged for impersonating a nurse in Hamilton and been been convicted in cases in Toronto and Hamilton.
She is now facing similar allegations as well as trafficking charges in London, Ont.
While she was a nurse she gave certain drugs...and she's been charged with trafficking on those charges. I think in our opinion that's a little over the top," says Mattson.
He added that when all is said and done, Okello could be facing a substantial jail sentence.
