The Justice Department says a massive, coordinated scheme to sell false and fraudulent nursing degree credentials has been brought down.
Twenty-five people are accused of operating a multi-million-dollar nursing school scheme, including two Burlington County, New Jersey residents.
Overall, the conspiracy involved the distribution of over 7,600 fake nursing diplomas and certificates issued by Florida-based nursing programs, according to officials. HHS-OIG, the FBI and Justice Department worked jointly on the operation, dubbed "Operation Nightingale," in honor of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.
The alleged scheme enabled these nursing candidates allegedly buying the fake diplomas "to avoid hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of clinical training -- countless hours getting that experience," Lapointe said. "These people didn't go through that. That part was completely skipped.
Aybar said one of the ways officials were alerted to the alleged scheme was when the Florida state auditing process discovered poor passing rates at three nursing schools. The action by federal law enforcement comes at a crucial moment in the health care industry, where an existing nurse shortage, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has left many nursing staffs spread thin and burnt out.
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