MIAMI (AP) — Federal authorities in Florida have charged 25 people with participating in a wire fraud scheme that created an illegal shortcut for aspiring nurses to get licensed and find employment. 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. AdvertisementProsecutors said the scheme also involved transcripts from the nursing schools for people seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses and licensed practical/vocational nurses. Lapointe added that “a fraud scheme like this erodes public trust in our health care system.”The fake diplomas and transcripts qualified those who purchased them to sit for the national nursing board exam. The schools involved — Siena College, Palm Beach School of Nursing and Sacred Heart International Institute — are now closed.

Source: Huffington Post January 29, 2023 06:47 UTC