Palm Beach State College (PBSC) requires all incoming students, whether first year A fake nursing diploma scheme brings 25 arrests in Florida : NPR Johanah Napoleon, the school's president, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, as well as wire fraud in 2022. Miami, Fl. 2023 Emerald X, LLC. Exams were taken in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Texas. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way, South Florida Sports Headlines Newsletter. In 2021, an undercover FBI employee met with Fort Lauderdale businessman Geralda Adrien at her Fort Lauderdale office. Authorities said students paid between $6,000 and $18,000 for fake transcripts and certificates. According to the charging documents, Palm Beach School of Nursings objective was to prepare students to meet Floridas licensing and nursing board requirements and become eligible to take the national licensing exam in order to work as registered nurses. What is disturbing about this investigation is that there are over 7,600 people around the country with fraudulent nursing credentials who are potentially in critical health care roles treating patients. The charges speak to the purpose of a nursing license which is to protect the public from harm by setting minimum qualifications and competencies. : 23-60012-Cr-Singhal. "Health care fraud is nothing new to South Florida, as many scammers see this as a way to earn easy, though illegal, money," acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough, FBI Miami, said. South Florida schools accused of selling fake nursing diplomas According to three recently unsealed indictments returned by a South Florida federal grand jury and two informations filed by federal prosecutors, defendants engaged in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to individuals seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs). The fake diplomas and transcripts qualified those who purchased them to sit for the national nursing board exam. Student Records Requests / Request Transcript USAFLS.News@usdoj.gov, Southern District of Florida Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison. Adrien offered the undercover employee a degree from the Palm Beach School of Nursing and training for a licensing exam in New York at a cost of $16,000, according to an FBI affidavit. the issuing institution. They were charged with conspiring to and committing wire fraud, prosecutors said. The charges speak to the purpose of a nursing license which is to protect the public from harm by setting minimum qualifications and competencies. Postsecondary Career & Technical Education (CTE) Transcript Request, Blackboard Web Community Manager Privacy Policy (Updated). All rights reserved. AICE, AP, IB, or CLEP Please submit these transcripts electronically to transcriptevaluation@palmbeachstate.edu. Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. In her spare time she likes to read, travel, write, and spend time with her husband and two children. The other 10 charged were listed as recruiters, including seven from New Jersey or New York. palm beach school of nursing is located in West Palm Beach, FL, but also offers classes online. After passing the exam, they became eligible to become licensed in several states, where they eventually found jobs as licensednurses. Fax Line: (305) 530-7679. Wire fraud is charged when a defendant uses interstate electronic communications to commit a fraud and "to further the scheme," according, Recruiters helped aspiring nurses obtain the fake degrees and transcripts. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, Public Affairs Unit More than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas were issued by the three nursing schools since 2016 at $15,000 each, netting them more than $114 million. "I like to help people," said Brown, who concealed her face and didn't want to give her real name. We encourage our customers to save time and take advantage of online services by going to Parchment. Transcripts should be complete showing all final grades and final graduation date. A credit card is needed for theeTranscriptfee, which is $5.90. It is alleged that these defendants arranged with Sanon, who managed Siena College and is charged by information with wire fraud conspiracy, to create and distribute false and fraudulent diplomas and transcripts. I would say that based on the rapid proliferation of online training programs that started well before COVID-19 but have definitely increased since COVID-19 just because of the difficulties we've had with being able to have in-person training, we know that there's going to be a higher chance that some of these people are going to slip through the cracks," Bernard said. : 23-60005-Cr-Smith, U.S. v. Sanon, case no. AICE, AP, IB, or CLEP Please submit these transcripts electronically to, Institutional Research & Effectiveness (IRE), online request for Florida GED Transcript, palmbeachstate.edu/admissions/credit-by-exam, Please request that transcripts be submitted electronically via, Transcripts can be sent via Secure PDF directly from the issuing institution school Florida Public High Schools and Charter schools Please request that transcripts be submitted electronically via FASTER. "What do we learn when somebody gets injured? There are two categories of defendants. Telephone or Fax requests will not be honored. Not only is this a public safety concern, it also tarnishes the reputation of nurses who actually complete the demanding clinical and course work required to obtain their professional licenses and employment," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe said in Miami, adding that "a fraud scheme like this erodes public trust in our health care system.". U.S. v. Russ, et al., case no. Carleen Health Institute of South Florida Nursing and Healthcare Programs Plantation Campus 8320 West Sunrise Blvd, Suite #204 Plantation, FL 33322 Get directions West Palm Beach Campus 4645 Gun Club Road, #11 West Palm Beach, FL 33415 (561)656-4720 Get directions by either the U.S. Consulate or the Ministry of Education in the applicants country. In fact, the aspiring nurses never completed the necessary courses and clinicals. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Florida nursing schools sold thousands of fake diplomas totaling $100M The fake diplomas and transcripts qualified those who purchased them to sit for the national nursing board exam. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe; acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough, FBI, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Perez Aybar, HHS-OIG, made the announcement. It is alleged that these recruiter defendants then arranged with Palm Beach School of Nursings owner Johanah Napoleon and school employees Gail Russ, Cheryl Stanley, Krystal Lopez, and Ricky Riley to create and distribute false and fraudulent diplomas and transcripts representing that the aspiring RN and LPN/VN candidates had attended Palm Beach School of Nursing and completed the necessary courses and clinicals to obtain RN or LPN/VN diplomas. Upon request, Admissions staff will From April 2016 to July 2021, at least seven nurses obtained fake diplomas from the Palm Beach School of Nursing, Sunshine Academy, Quisqeya and Florida College of Health, which were all owned by Johanah Napoleon. From about Nov. 2018 to Oct. 2021, Sanon allegedly sold 2,016 fake diplomas and transcripts that falsely purported that recipients had completed the necessary courses and training at Siena College to obtain such degrees when they never had, according to the criminal complaint. If you see that we have records for a school that you attended and would like to see if we have your transcript, please complete the Transcript Request Form Transcript Request Form (PDF). The Palm Beach County school, which operated on 2695 N. Military Trail in West Palm Beach, offered an Associate in Science degree. She graduated from California State University, Sacramento in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in nursing. "Plus I paid the plane fare, hotel, so roughly $25,000.". The Palm Beach County school, which operated on 2695 N. Military Trail in West Palm Beach, offered an Associate in Science degree. The School of Nursing - Palm Beach Atlantic University Transcripts should be complete showing all final grades and if applicable graduation U.S. Attorneys Office More than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas were issued by the three nursing schools since 2016 at $15,000 each, netting them more than $114 million. She began her career working night shifts on a pediatric/ med-surg unit for six years, later transferring to a telemetry unit where she worked for four more years. Recruiters would bring "students" from other states to get the "shortcut" documents from the South Florida school. Home / Nursing Articles / How Do I Get Transcripts from a Nursing School That Has Closed? minutes, too. Core Values Christ-centered The School of Nursing prepares professional, competent nurses who are reflective, inquiring, able to apply nursing theory, processes and technical nursing skills within the context of the Christian worldview, while recognizing the global, pluralistic nature of society. Recently unsealed federal grand jury indictments allege the defendants took part in a scam that sold more than 7,600 fraudulent nursing degree diplomas from three Florida-based nursing schools, federal officials said during a news conference in Miami on Wednesday afternoon. Defendants sold fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to individuals seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses and licensed practical/vocational nurses, according to three recently unsealed indictments returned by a South Florida federal grand jury on Jan. 12 and information filed by federal prosecutors. Twenty-five defendants, including school directors and diploma recipients, were charged in the scheme and each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The philosophy of the School of Nursing at Palm Beach Atlantic University is one that is Christ-centered and focused on the success of the students . Request for Student Records. FBI Miami and HHS-OIG Miami investigated these cases. These fake documents represented that the aspiring RN and LPN/VN candidates had attended Siena Colleges nursing program in Broward County and completed the necessary courses and clinicals to obtain RN or LPN/VN diplomas. Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. These recruiters then arranged with Charles Etienne, Sacred Hearts owner, to create and distribute false and fraudulent transcripts and diplomas representing that the aspiring candidates had attended Sacred Heart and completed the necessary courses and clinicals to obtain LPN/VN diplomas. Some schools will accept notarized copies of your own documents along with "proof" of the school's destruction. Recruiters would bring "students" from other states to get the "shortcut" documents from the South Florida school. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern, indem Sie auf unseren Websites und Apps auf den Link Datenschutz-Dashboard klicken. Federal Enforcement on Falsifying Thousands of Nursing Credentials In fact, the aspiring nurses never completed the necessary courses and clinicals. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison. list of approved agencies is located at www.NACES.org/members (Applications for agencies Adrien and Predestin are also named as co-conspirators in the Siena College case. Attorneys for defendants were not listed in a federal court database Thursday. : 23-60007-Cr-Singhal . Can You Be Referred to as a Doctor If You Earn a DNP? The other schools named are the Sacred Heart Institute in Fort Lauderdale in Sienna College of Health in Lauderhill in the investigation dubbed "Operation Nightingale" after legendary nurse Florence Nightingale. Crimes such as these unfortunately continue to spring up, especially in this area. 22-60111-Cr-Smith and 22-60118-Cr-Smith). There are additional handling fees for paper transcripts. Health care fraud is nothing new to South Florida, as many scammers see this as a way to earn easy, though illegal, money, said acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough, FBI Miami. directly). Stop the bleeding. The indictment charges defendants Stanton Witherspoon of Burlington County N.J.; Alfred Sellu of Burlington County N.J.; and Rene Bernadel of Westchester County, N.Y. with conspiring to commit and committing wire fraud. The indictment charges Ludnie Jean of Harris County, Texas; Serge Jean of Harris County, Texas; Simon Itaman of Harris County, Texas; Anna Itaman of Harris County, Texas; Rhomy Louis of Suffolk County, N.Y.; and Nadege Auguste of Broward County with conspiring to and committing wire fraud. The alleged selling and purchasing of nursing diplomas and transcripts to willing but unqualified individuals is a crime that potentially endangers the health and safety of patients and insults the honorable profession of nursing, said Special Agent in Charge Omar Prez Aybar of Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Copyright 2002-2023 Blackboard, Inc. All rights reserved. : 23-60005-Cr-Smith, U.S. v. Sanon, case no. Required fields are marked *. Qualified purchasers were allowed to sit for the national nursing board exam and, after passing it, to obtain licenses and jobs in various states as RNs and LPN/VNs. According to the OIG, the scheme general worked in three parts: 'Producing the poison & selling the cure':Group ranks health care industry's lowlights in 2022, COVID vaccination:FDA vaccine panel to consider annual COVID shots, Sober home fraud:Florida doc sentenced to 20 years in prison. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Krystal Lopez of Palm Beach County. Phone: (561)683-1400. The phony credentials were sold by three South Florida-based nursing schools: Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, FL, Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County, FL, and .
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