Greater than 2,800 individuals could also be working as nurses beneath false pretenses after allegedly shopping for a faux diploma for between $10,000 and $15,000 from a large Florida-based scheme just lately busted by federal investigators. State and federal authorities are actually working to trace down the alleged fraudulent nurses, and in some instances, instantly annulling their licenses.
Final week, the Division of Justice introduced prices in opposition to 25 individuals in 5 states linked to the alleged scheme. The investigation, code-named Operation Nightingale, discovered proof that the 25 defendants labored to promote greater than 7,600 faux diplomas, together with transcripts, between 2016 and 2021, making over $100 million within the course of. The fraudulent diplomas and transcripts have been allegedly issued from three accredited Florida-based nursing colleges: Siena Faculty and Sacred Coronary heart Worldwide Institute in Broward County and Palm Seaside Faculty of Nursing in Palm Seaside County.
The three colleges are actually closed and the 25 defendants every withstand 20 years in jail.
“Well being care fraud is nothing new to South Florida, as many scammers see this as a method to earn straightforward, although unlawful, cash,” appearing Particular Agent in Cost Chad Yarbrough, FBI Miami, stated in a press release. “What’s disturbing about this investigation is that there are over 7,600 individuals across the nation with fraudulent nursing credentials who’re doubtlessly in crucial well being care roles treating sufferers.”
With a faux diploma and transcript, an unscrupulous aspiring nurse can qualify to take the nationwide nursing board examination. And in the event that they move the examination, they’ll turn out to be licensed nurses and get a job in a well being care setting. Federal authorities reported that of the 7,600 individuals with the alleged faux diplomas, round 37 p.c—greater than 2,800 individuals—handed the examination. Many went on to get jobs as licensed nurses.
“Deplorable”
Now, authorities try to trace down these nurses. Court docket paperwork indicated that a few of the questionable nurses have been employed at Veterans Affairs hospitals in Maryland and New York, a hospital in Georgia, and a talented nursing facility in Ohio, amongst different locations.
Late final week, the Delaware State Board of Nursing annulled the licenses of 26 individuals working as nurses after acquiring allegedly faux levels. “All of us really feel that is egregious,” Pamela Zickafoose, the chief director of Delaware’s Board of Nursing, advised an area ABC Information affiliate.
On Monday, reporters in Georgia reported that there are 22 individuals working as nurses within the state with allegedly faux diplomas. The Georgia Board of Nursing despatched letters to the 22 individuals on January 17 requesting that they voluntarily give up their licenses inside 30 days. As of January 30, none had finished so.
Additionally on Monday, Washington state’s Nursing Care High quality Assurance Fee introduced it had recognized 150 nursing candidates utilizing credentials from the alleged scheme. Based on KING5 in Seattle, of the 150 individuals, seven have had their licenses rescinded, 4 candidates have been denied, 62 are in authorized limbo, and the remaining 77 are beneath investigation.
In a press release, American Nurses Affiliation President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy known as the alleged scheme “extraordinarily unsettling” and people concerned “deplorable.”
“This undermines every little thing the nursing occupation represents and stands for and is in direct opposition to the Code of Ethics for Nurses,” she continued. “Moreover, these illegal and unethical acts disparage the repute of precise nurses all over the place … We help the investigation and the judicial course of to make sure people discovered to have been concerned on this scheme are held accountable.”
