Fake Nurse Who Watched Marine Veteran Die Pleads Guilty Alongside Fiancée
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Julien Williams pleaded guilty to identity theft, practicing without a license, and elder neglect; Alexia Irwin pleaded guilty to identity theft and practicing without a license.
- The case involves the October 2024 death of 69-year-old Marine veteran Kensworth Moody, after Williams failed to act during respiratory distress.
- BrightStar Care lost its state license following an investigation linking inadequate care to Moody’s death.
- Moody’s family has filed a civil lawsuit and is seeking a new review of his cause of death.
Julien Williams and his fiancee Alexia Irwin have pleaded guilty in a Clay County, Florida courtroom, bringing the criminal case to a close in one of the most disturbing fake nurse cases in recent memory. Williams, who had no nursing license, no formal medical training, and no business being in charge of a critically ill patient, entered guilty pleas on three counts:
- Use of personal identification
- Practicing without a license
- Abuse or neglect of an elderly person
Alexia Irwin, who engineered the fraud that put him there, pleaded guilty to two. Both had originally faced 16 counts each.
- Criminal use of personal identification
- Practicing without a license
Both had originally faced 16 counts each.
About The Case
At the center of the case is Kensworth Moody, a retired U.S. Marine Gunnery Sergeant who needed 24-hour skilled nursing care at his home in Fleming Island, Florida. He had a tracheotomy, a gastric tube, and was battling kidney disease. He deserved qualified care. He did not get it.
Moody's family was connected to BrightStar Care of East Jacksonville/Neptune Beach through the VA's community care network. The agency sent Williams to their home as his in-home nurse. Williams had been hired under a stolen identity: Irwin, who worked in scheduling and human resources at BrightStar, had taken the license and credentials of a real licensed practical nurse named Darez Whigham, a UF Health employee, and attached them to Williams' application. The company paid Williams at a licensed nurse's rate. He had no idea what he was doing.
On October 13, 2024, Moody went into respiratory distress. A bedroom surveillance camera captured what happened next. According to a 60-page Florida Agency for Health Care Administration investigation, Williams did not alert the family, did not initiate CPR, and did not call for help. Footage showed him approaching Moody as he gasped for air and appearing to adjust the trach without knowing what he was doing. Two hours passed. It was Moody's daughter, Kendra, who eventually discovered her father unresponsive and called for help. The AHCA report concluded the delay in emergency care and the lack of skilled nursing services resulted in the patient's unanticipated death.
Williams sent Sandra Moody a text message hours after her husband died. "I'm sorry Ms. Moody. I just wanted to show you I was capable. I let you down. I failed Mr. Moody and nothing I can do can bring him back. I just want to tell you I'm sorry I failed you."
The family grew suspicious of Williams' qualifications. They looked him up on social media and found a different face attached to his name. Williams and Irwin left BrightStar shortly after Moody's death. The Clay County Sheriff's Office launched a fraud investigation, and in March 2025, U.S. Marshals tracked the couple to Michigan and arrested them. They were extradited to Florida to face charges.
Sheriff Michelle Cook, in a four-minute video posted on social media, detailed how Irwin used the identity and credentials of a former licensed practical nurse (LPN) to get Williams hired at BrightStar Care, a Jacksonville-based home health agency. The deception allowed Williams to collect a nurse’s pay while overseeing patient care he wasn’t qualified to provide.
What Has Happened Since the Arrests
The consequences of this case extended well beyond Williams and Irwin. BrightStar Care of East Jacksonville/Neptune Beach lost its state license in November 2024 following the AHCA investigation. The VA confirmed the franchise is no longer part of its community care network.
Williams was extradited and held in Clay County on a $400,000 bond. He initially pleaded not guilty at his May 2025 arraignment. Both he and Irwin have now reversed those pleas. As part of their agreements, Williams faces three counts at sentencing and Irwin faces two, significantly reduced from the original 16 each.
The Family
The Moody family has not accepted the outcome as complete. Their attorney has filed a civil lawsuit against both the BrightStar franchisee and the franchisor. The family has formally asked the Florida Department of Health for a second medical examiner to review the case, arguing the cause of death should be changed from natural to undetermined. "We're suing the franchisee as well as the franchisor for what happened. Mr. Moody and his family have a right to justice, and we'll let the jury tell them what the truth is," their attorney said.
Kendra Moody said hearing the guilty pleas was emotional and hard to process. "The least he could've done was be honest and call for help. He saw how we were with my dad," she said through tears.
Sandra Moody, Kensworth's widow, said she wants people to remember who her husband was. "He was always joyful, liked to play music, and a very good-spirited person who never wanted to die. He said Marines never die." She told reporters she was robbed of the chance to be with him at the end. "My husband was sick, so it was inevitable probably one day he would die, but he didn't have to die."
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What Nurses Need to Know
The real nurse whose identity was stolen, Darez Whigham, had no knowledge her credentials were being used to get an unlicensed man into a patient's home. That is worth sitting with. Your license number, NPI, and employment history are all that separate your professional identity from someone who wants to exploit it. Credential theft in home health is a real risk, and nurses working in or adjacent to home care settings should periodically check state licensing boards to confirm no unauthorized activity is attached to their license.
For nurses in home health more broadly, this case is a reminder that verification systems exist for a reason, and that advocating for stricter credentialing at the agency level is not bureaucratic overhead. It is what stands between a vulnerable patient and someone who does not know how to manage a trach in a crisis.
Families can verify a caregiver's nursing license through their state nursing board at any time. In Florida, lookups are free and publicly available through the Florida Department of Health. The Moody family trusted the system to do that work. It did not.
Williams and Irwin now await sentencing. A Marine veteran's family is still in court.
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