U.S.: 7,600 fake nursing diplomas sold in scheme

More than two dozen people have been charged in connection with a scheme in which fake nursing diplomas were sold to buyers who then used the credentials to obtain nursing licenses and jobs in health care settings across the country, federal prosecutors said.

The scheme involved the sale of more than 7,600 fake diplomas issued by three South Florida nursing schools, which have since closed: Siena College and Sacred Heart International Institute, both in Broward County, and Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, prosecutors said.

The 25 people charged this week include administrators of the Florida schools and administrators and affiliates of a series of nursing test prep academies in other states that recruited candidates to buy the fake diplomas, said Omar Perez Aybar, special agent in charge for the Miami region of the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Many of the people who paid for the fraudulent credentials already had experience working in health care — for example, as certified nursing assistants — and were hoping to qualify as registered nurses or licensed practical nurses without having to complete the required courses and clinical work, Perez Aybar said in an interview Thursday.

Buyers paid between $10,000 and $15,000 to obtain bogus diplomas and transcripts indicating that they had earned legitimate degrees, like the associate degree in nursing, Perez Aybar said. That degree can take two years to complete.

The diplomas and transcripts then allowed the buyers to qualify for the national nursing board exam, prosecutors said. About 37% of those who bought the fake documents — or about 2,800 people — passed the exam, Perez Aybar said.

Among that group, a “significant number” then received nursing licenses and secured jobs in hospitals and other health care settings, Perez Aybar said.