A Florida social worker surrendered her license after an investigation revealed that her wife had posed as her and treated patients through an online mental health platform.

According to a Florida Department of Health investigative report and online department records, Peggy A. Randolph was a licensed clinical social worker in Ellenton, about 20 miles northeast of Sarasota.

She was also licensed as a social worker in Tennessee, according to online records and documents filed with the state Board of Social Worker Licensing.

When Randolph was reported, she was working for Brightside Health, an online mental health platform, between January 2021 and February 2023. During that time, she provided video call support to hundreds of clients, official documents show.

Patient learned of identity fraud after social worker's wife died

Randolph took bereavement leave following the death of her wife, Tammy G. Heath-Randolph. Randolph's patient reported that she had been treated not by the social worker herself, but by Randolph's deceased wife without a license.

The patient who reported the situation provided a photo showing herself speaking with Randolph's wife during a session. When Brightside Health launched an investigation and confronted Randolph, the social worker denied that the patient had been treated by her wife.